Slowly But Surely In Love
by Autumn Webster
Summary: Lovino Vargas turns fifteen, the age at which the words of peoples' soul-mates say to them when they first meet is branded onto their wrists. Feliciano has a brand as soon as the hand strikes midnight, but why doesn't Lovino? A SpaMano fanfiction with slight GerIta, PruCan, and a few others. Rated M for Lovino's harsh language and some events that may happen later in the story.
1. Panic

Lovino stared with disinterest as everyone else gathered around Kiku. He was the first in their class to turn fifteen, the age that the words their soul-mate said to them when they met were branded onto their wrists by an unseen force. He groaned as the others started to 'ooh' and 'ah' over the words that were written in cursive, black ink on the Japanese student's pale wrist.

Lovino Vargas would turn fifteen in a matter of days and, despite everyone else in the world, was not interested at all in what his soul-mate would say to him. At least, that's what he preferred to believe. What did it matter what the person's first words were when they could spend their lives together? Not that the Italian would like to spend his entire life with someone. He didn't like commitment.

"Ve, fratello, aren't you excited?" Lovino looked up to see his bubbly brother, Feliciano, asked him. The younger twin plopped down in the seat next to Lovi, chatting up a storm. "In two days we'll be just like Kiku! We'll have the words our soul-mate said on our wrists to show everyone!" Lovi had known for years that Feliciano was excited about the moment his wrist would be covered in that condemning ink.

"No, I'm not excited." The elder twin rolled his eyes. "You know that already, now shut up about it. I don't care one way or the other. Actually, I hope I _don't_ have a soul-mate."

Feli gasped. "You don't mean that!" He pulled on his twin's sleeve, trying to get Lovino to look at him. "I know you don't. You're just grumpy like always."

"Everyone, take your seats." The booming sound of their teacher's voice rang through the class. All of the students, save Feliciano and Lovino who were already seated, scrambled to their assigned desks. The tall German with long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes looked around the room, eyes locking with a few of the usual troublemakers. "We have class to begin."

Finally, the night of the twins' birthday came. Feliciano refused to let Lovi get some sleep, but it was a Friday night so Lovino didn't really care. They waited in silence until it was 11:59. Feliciano started getting impatient and got up to pace the room, unable to contain his excitement. "One more minute, Lovino, and we'll know exactly what they'll say to us! Who knows, maybe they're in the same class as us!"

The elder twin scoffed, but was actually a little bit anxious himself. What would his soul-mate have to say to him? Would they be annoying like that stupid kid Gilbert or would they be nice like Feliciano? Lovino found himself counting the seconds in his mind, the wait almost killing him. "Come on, come on." He urged time forward, getting agitated. Surely it had been a minute!

Suddenly a gasp filled the room, the faint glow of the lamp illuminating Feliciano's wrist. "I remember that! I remember someone saying that to me but I don't remember where!" Lovino glanced up at his panicking twin, not wanting to look at his own wrist. He didn't feel any different at all, nothing like the usual tickle associated with the writing.

Finally, Lovino took a look at his wrist. His eyes widened, for no matter which way he twisted and strained his wrist, it was blank. Internally panicking, he searched the other. Lovino even ran to the other side of the room, flicking on the lights. "No, no, no," Lovino repeated in a whisper, panic lacing his voice. No matter which way he looked at it, both of his wrists were blank.

Lovino Romano Vargas didn't have a soul mate.


	2. Chance Meet

Antonio woke to his alarm clock, the same as he had for the past eighteen years of his life. This morning, just like every other since his fifteenth birthday, he glanced down at his wrist. Antonio would have laughed if he could at always having those words stamped to his wrist. The words in question, written in that same black ink, were 'Move it, asshole, I've got places to be.'

Antonio traced the cursive with his finger before shutting off his alarm. He smiled to himself, green eyes shining. 'Today is going to be the day that I find him or her,' he thought. After a few more minutes of sitting in bed, he pushed himself up and stretched, opening his mouth in a soundless yawn. He lived in an apartment by himself ever since he had graduated a month or so ago.

He got to his feet, quickly dressing himself. Antonio then stood in front of the mirror, glaring at his reflection as he tried to get his messy dark brown hair under control. He didn't really have to do anything today except look around.

He'd moved here to Italy after his sisters had died and, due to his studies of Italian and English sign language along with finishing high school, Antonio hadn't really had time to look around and actually enjoy much of the country. Toni had been lucky when he had found this small apartment closer to the edge of the city. There was more room for him to plant his garden, which he usually kept full of tomatoes and a few herbs and spices.

Walking out the door, Antonio waved at the elderly couple whom he had befriended within the first week of moving here. He hadn't had many visitors; usually it was just the delivery employees knocking on his door to deliver foreign seeds and some letters from old friends. Sometimes, though, some apartment residents came over to ask about his garden or the dance lessons he thought about starting.

More than anything, Antonio loved to dance. Even as he crouched in the hot Italian sun and inspected the tomatoes, he was thinking of a Spanish song he had danced to in the years before he came. He would have hummed it, if he were able. Instead, he settled for pulling out his phone and connecting the earbuds. He put on a traditional Spanish song and mouthed the words as he worked, pulling out weeds and watering all of the plants.

Before he knew it, he had finished with the garden's work for the day and found himself standing up, swaying and dancing to the music. Oh how he wished he had a partner who could dance like him. Antonio told himself every morning at the exact minute he awoke, for the past three and a half years, that that day would be the day he would find his soul-mate.

'I'll teach them to dance!' Antonio thought to himself as he did the waltz with an imaginary partner. 'I'll teach them how to work in a garden, anything they want to know. I wonder if my soul-mate will be a boy or a girl. I don't mind either, really! I just can't wait!'

After the song went off, Antonio found himself walking up the stairs to his own place and contemplating how perfect his partner would be. He'd bet they were Italian, something he sure didn't mind. People in this part of Italy weren't always the nicest, but Antonio was willing to bet that his soul-mate would be perfect in every way.

His heart thumped in his chest when there was a knock at his door. Toni quickly made his way to the door, staring quizzically at the elderly woman. "Sorry to bother you, Antonio," she smiled at him. "But would you mind running to the grocery to get me a few things? You don't have to, I'll go if you're too busy."

Antonio quickly jumped on the opportunity. 'Yeah, I'll go! Don't worry about it, I'll be back as quickly as I can,' He signed to her, happily taking the list of items she'd held toward him. He slipped his shoes back on and shut the door, making his way to the steps.

"You're a good boy, Antonio," He heard the old woman say from behind him. "It's a shame you're mute. You didn't do anything to deserve it. Really, I've never met a more lively young man. Come over for tea anytime you want. Don't come back from the grocery anytime soon, make some friends. I want to see more people over here."

Antonio grinned at her over his shoulder as thanks and bounded down the stairs and out into the world.

Lovino groaned as he walked down the street. It was hot and he was tired from having been awake since six in the morning. Feliciano and his soul-mate, the German that Lovino found greatly stupid named Ludwig, walked in front of him. Feli had baked goods in one hand, Ludwig a bunch of flowers in his. Their free hands held onto each other's, making Lovino want to barf.

They were heading to the market, Lovi being dragged along against his will. He hated to see his brother's attention always occupied by that damn German. He hated that they were always at each other's side like leeches. Even more so, he hated the brands on their wrists. Lovino despised that loopy black cursive on every single human's wrists, all except his own.

Lovino looked down at his feet, counting in his mind the reasons that he enjoyed not having a brand. He hated that he couldn't come up with any. Lovi practically spat as he looked up, seeing his brother kiss Ludwig on the cheek.

The elder Italian twin was so occupied with his own thoughts and emotions that he didn't notice the cheery looking teen with earbuds in coming down the street. Too late, he saw him. The man was knocked down when Lovi ran straight into him, making the taller stranger drop the multiple bags of produce he was carrying.

He could hardly see the man under the mop of curly brown hair. Lovino's breath hitched when the stranger tilted his head up, revealing wide, shining green eyes. After a long moment, Lovi huffed, not knowing what to say. "Move it, asshole, I've got places to be." He almost hated himself as he moved to step over the man. He hated himself even more when a hand reached to grab his ankle.


	3. Meeting In The Streets

**Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you guys know that, unless I'm super uber-busy, there'll be new updates on this story every day or every other day. This story will not go without an update for longer than a week, I can guarantee it. I really love writing it, and you can leave some suggestions in my inbox. Thank you~!**

Antonio quickly reached up to grab the Italian's ankle. He couldn't let this man get away. Sure, maybe he really wasn't his soul-mate, but he just had to make sure. Antonio had to know. As his hand wrapped around the slender ankle, the man's head whipped around to look at him again with those piercing amber eyes. Antonio loved his eyes; they seemed to glow in the hot sun, bringing out the pale green.

The man above him said nothing and that was when Antonio caught two other people standing a few feet in front of him. One looked a lot like the man who had knocked him down while the other was a large, muscular man with pale eyes and slicked-back hair. Toni felt his face go bright red as he realized that he probably couldn't explain why he had this boy's leg in a death grip. He couldn't explain anything unless they knew sign language or randomly carried a notebook and pen everywhere they went.

Releasing the teen's leg, Antonio quickly scrambled to his feet, forgetting all about the bags of produce that were no-doubt crushed and spilled everywhere in the bags. Brushing himself off, he kept his gaze locked on the Italian's, silently pleading for him to not move.

'Don't go, don't walk away from me. Please.' Antonio said with his eyes. The three in front of him seemed to get the message and just stood there looking at him oddly. Well, the man who was no-doubt German and the one that looked really happy about everything looked at him oddly. Antonio's gaze swiveled to the boy who was no longer above him. He would have laughed if he could; the Italian, whom he was sure was his soul-mate, was about half a head shorter than him.

Toni could already tell that this boy was fiery and a bit difficult. His face was a little bit red, his eyes glaring at him. He could practically hear the sharp words the Italian had in mind even though his mouth wasn't moving. Frantically, Antonio thought about a way to tell him. Finally, he just held up his wrist to the man, showing him the loopy writing.

He saw the man's eyes widen before he hid his hands in his pockets. Antonio tilted his head quizzically, not knowing why he had hidden his hands. Before he knew what was going on, the other Italian boy came over, the larger man behind him. Toni heard a gasp as the other, who was obviously the twin of his supposed soul-mate, read his wrist. Even the other man let out a faint grunt of surprise.

"Lovino," the bubbly twin shouted. "You _do_ have a soul-mate! We found him! I think it's a little bit funny that you sort of shoved him down on accident, but that doesn't matter; we found him!" He was jumping up and down, clapping before he danced a little bit. Antonio brushed back his own mop of curls, opening his mouth in a soundless laugh.

Lovino grumbled as, about an hour after the 'fateful' encounter in the streets, he found himself in a small apartment, the silent man serving them tea. He looked around and the sparse furnishings. Either this man hadn't been here very long at all, or he'd had no reason to decorate. Lovi really didn't want to spend time anywhere but in his own bed at the moment contemplating his life.

He couldn't believe he had a soul-mate, he wasn't even sure he wanted one. He'd done just fine without one for the past seventeen years of his life. Lovino had been perfectly fine without that loopy cursive on his wrist. At least, that was what he made himself believe.

He absolutely _hated _those pitying glances he'd gotten on the Monday after his birthday. Oh how he hated the stares he got on the street when someone caught a glimpse of his blank wrist. He despised the whispers that were obviously about him and his unbranded skin. Lovino could have dealt with never having a soul-mate, he could have dealt with the thought of being alone, but the one thing he could not deal with was the pity.

Lovino stirred his tea, watching the steam rise up and smelling the herbs the man had put in it. Feliciano and Ludwig sat on the other side of the couch, his bubbly twin in the German's lap, almost making Lovino want to spill his tea on their heads. Instead, Lovi immersed himself in trying to figure out all of the herbs that were used in the tea and trying to avoid eye-contact with those glowing emerald orbs.

"So what's your name?" Feliciano asked the man. Lovino found himself glancing up at the man, noticing immediately the small pink tongue poking out from the corner of his lips as he wrote in the notebook he'd gotten. Lovino tried not to notice the shine in his eyes and the way he brushed a dark curl behind his ear. He tried not to notice the contrast of his bright eyes against his tanned skin.

_Antonio Fernandez Carriedo_ was written in neat print at the top of the paper, leaving room for a whole conversation on the rest of the page. 'Antonio,' Lovino mouthed before taking a sip of his tea. He wouldn't dare admit that he liked the sound of the name; he liked the way the name rolled off his tongue.

After a few more hours of talking, in Antonio's case writing, the sun began to set. Lovino was curled up on the couch, his feet underneath him as he ignored that Feliciano was attached to Ludwig. A few more minutes passed before Lovino stood. "It's late and we live a while away. We need to get going if we want to get back home before nightfall, Feli."

"Awww," The younger complained. "But I don't want to leave. Antonio is really good company! Don't you think so, Ludwig?" Lovino rolled his eyes and stood by the door. He was about to say that he would leave without him, but Feliciano got to his feet. "Oh well. We'll see you tomorrow, right Antonio? We can show you around the town!"

Lovino groaned internally as Antonio and Ludwig shook hands and they made their way out the door. As Lovi shut the door, he caught one last glimpse at Antonio. For the entire walk home, Lovino couldn't get the sad look in Antonio's eyes out of his head.


	4. Rainy Day

**Sorry for the late-night chapter, everyone! Had some stuff to take care of. I'm hoping to make the next few chapters a bit longer, but I'll need some more ideas if anyone has any. For this chapter, I need to thank a friend, I'd like to keep her anonymous, but you know who you are girl! Thank you for such an amazing idea. Enjoy, loves~**

Antonio woke up to a knock on his door. He silently groaned, not really wanting to wake up. Why was anyone at his door, anyway? He was sure that the elderly couple wouldn't come today, so who was there? Toni got out of bed, blinking sleep out of his eyes. He didn't bother to throw on a shirt or comb his hair as he heard another knock. He made his way to the door, opening it.

Feliciano was standing at the door already dressed nicely with his hair parted down the middle. "Hi, Antonio," Feli grinned. "I told you I'd show you around today, remember? If you just woke up, then I can wait out here while you get dressed." He tilted his head to the side, glancing at Antonio who was in a pair of gray sweat pants.

Toni shook his head, motioning to the small living room as an invitation inside. Feliciano took the invitation and sat on the couch while Antonio went to go get dressed. He quickly slipped on a white tank top and a pair of shorts, not really caring about his looks. Toni combed through his tousled hair, though it didn't make much of a difference. After a moment, Antonio's green eyes fixed on that hated mark on his neck. He thought better of wearing the revealing shirt and put on a hoodie over it; the same one he'd worn the day before.

He finally stepped into the living room where Feliciano was up looking out the small window. Antonio walked up behind him, noticing that his small tomato garden could be seen from it. "That's a beautiful garden," He heard Feliciano say. "The owner sure takes care of it."

Antonio felt a rush of pride and grinned, poking Feliciano to make him turn around. When the younger Italian cocked an eyebrow, Toni pointed to the garden, then at himself. "It's your garden?" Feliciano gasped. "Wow! It looks amazing; you must spend a lot of time on it! Lovino has a tomato garden as well, but it's because he only likes home-made sauce for our pasta."

That was when Antonio actually noticed that Lovino wasn't with Feliciano. He wanted to ask about him, but he really had no way to until he realized he had the notebook. Toni ran to fetch the notebook as he would need it later. 'Where is Lovino, anyway?' He flipped the notebook to show Feliciano the question.

"Oh, Lovino is at the market again. When we bumped into you, we sort of ditched shopping and we didn't get all we needed." Feliciano explained. "Sorry he's not here, I'm sure you wanted to see him. Maybe I can show you to our house later and you can see him." Feli suggested with a smile. Antonio really couldn't refuse that offer and nodded vigorously.

Even though he'd known Lovino for a day and he wasn't the nicest person, he couldn't help but to feel a connection. He'd loved the way Lovi had blushed and he'd loved the way his eyes shone green in the sunlight. Antonio had loved the way Lovino was obviously a shy and nervous person though he'd tried to hide it by acting angry and disinterested. He'd loved the way that his eyes shone when Lovino had asked a few questions before falling silent. Antonio knew he had already fallen.

After a few more minutes, Feliciano had suggested they'd better get moving. Antonio nodded and locked the door behind them, following Feli down the stairs. He was surprised to see the large man, Ludwig he now knew, leaning against the building. Ludwig nodded at Antonio, walking over to join them. "Hallo," the German greeted, shaking Antonio's hand.

Feliciano led the two of them down the sidewalk, the sun beating down on them. Antonio didn't mind the heat all that much; it wasn't very different than the summer days in Spain when he had lived there. He actually enjoyed it as it reminded him of his own home before everything went sour. Antonio found himself so enthralled in his own thoughts that he hardly noticed when Feli stopped in front of a small bakery.

It was a small shop, obviously Italian even without the colors of the Italian flag painted on the door. Feliciano opened the door and the sweet smell of sugar and spices wafted out onto the street, making Antonio's mouth water. He could really go for something at the moment, he noticed as his stomach let out a rumble.

Ludwig and Feliciano heard it, making them both laugh. Ludwig's laugh was deep while Feliciano's sounded more like a giggle, Toni noticed. The three of them walked inside, Antonio's eyes widening at the large display of goods. He walked around, moving to everything that caught his eye. Feliciano ended up buying him a pastry with little tomato sprinkles on it, which he ate quickly.

They spent a few hours walking around the small town, Antonio running around and pointing to the places he wanted to go into. They ended up going to book stores, art shops, a Farmer's Market, an antique shop, and a few other miscellaneous stores along the streets. Toni smiled to himself, swinging the bag of art supplies and books he had gotten at the stores.

All three of them looked up when they heard a loud clap of thunder. Antonio couldn't stop himself from pouting when a fat raindrop decided to land on his nose. He shook his head, wrinkling his nose at the cold. Feliciano tutted, "Looks like we'll have to get inside. Oh, but Antonio, can you run ahead to the house? I showed you where it was if you still remember."

Antonio nodded before tilting his head quizzically. "I have a few things in my bag that I don't want the rain to ruin," Feliciano explained, holding out his bag to Toni, who took it. "Lovino should be home by now if you want to chat with him until we get there."

Antonio could hardly choke back his excitement as he ran along the streets, clutching the bags in his hands. Even as it started to pour, Toni felt like humming to himself at the thought of talking to Lovi. Well, talk as much as someone in his situation _could _talk. He couldn't stop himself from grinning as he got closer and closer to where he remembered Feliciano and Lovino's house being.

Lovino was pissed. He kicked the door hard enough to make his foot hurt before sitting on the porch, throwing stones into the yard with a greater force than necessary. Feliciano had done this on purpose. Now Lovino was locked out of the house, the spare key no doubt in Feli's pocket, in the pouring rain. It wasn't long before Lovi was shivering and his hair was plastered to his face.

He sighed, pushing his soaked hair behind his ears and trying to get out of the rain as much as possible. Lovino hated Feliciano right now and he hated Ludwig for taking up all of his time before they'd left earlier that morning. He really hated that they'd been up talking all night, keeping Lovino awake with their rambling.

Hearing footsteps, Lovino glanced up. His breath hitched and his eyes widened when he saw Antonio towering over him, that annoying cocky grin that he couldn't help but to love and his curly hair plastered to his forehead. Antonio tucked two bags he was holding under a nearby bush and sat on the step next to Lovino.

After a moment, Lovino felt something draped around his shoulders. He quickly looked at Antonio, who was now in a white tank top. Lovi tried to ignore the way the wet cloth clung to the elder's muscles. He also didn't want to notice the fact that there was water dripping from Antonio's face and down his neck; but sadly, he noticed.

Lovino blushed darkly as Antonio reached over and zipped up the hoodie, pulling the hood over his head. The sweat shirt was still warm from being on Toni, still smelled like him. Antonio smelled like tomatoes and parsley. Lovino pulled the hood down lower, tensing up when Antonio pulled him closer to his body.

He looked away, puffing out his cheeks. Finally he leaned into the warmth of the other, blushing even darker when he felt Antonio nuzzle his head with his own. He caught another whiff of the dark-haired teen's scent, but pushed back the urge to inhale more of it.

Lovino glared at the ground, wondering why he was letting the other boy wrap his arms around his waist as if they were together. Lovino bit his lip as he wondered just why he was letting the other get so close. He didn't know why he was even wearing this baggy sweatshirt; he usually didn't mind the rain.

Lovi flinched and drew away when he felt Toni's warm hand in his own. "What the fucking hell are you doing, bastard?!" He yelled, clutching both of his hands to his chest, shrinking away from Antonio. "I never said I wanted you near me! I never said I wanted your arms around me or your hand in mine! I never _asked _for a soul-mate!"

Lovino found the hurt look in Antonio's eyes painful to look at. It was as if he had just kicked a newborn puppy. Despite his outburst, he let Toni take his hand again, palm out. He tensed as the older boy started tracing letters in his palm. It took him a moment to decipher the message as it was in English for some reason.

He ripped his hand away and ran down the street immediately, not daring to look back. The words, 'I think I like you,' still tingling on his skin.


	5. The Ice Cream Shop

Ten days. That was the amount of days Antonio had heard nothing from Lovino. Feliciano and Ludwig came to his apartment every day, even if only for a few minutes, and they had come so frequently that Antonio had started teaching them some Italian sign language. So far, he'd only managed to get them to remember half of the alphabet in sign language, but it was a start. Feliciano caught on quickly and would have already known the full alphabet if he didn't have to help Ludwig along.

Antonio had started to wake up earlier, around nine in the morning, because Feliciano always showed up at his door early. He'd started to try to clean the house; he'd started to look for an extra job since his own now was barely enough to pay the bills. All in all, Antonio thought it was good for him that the two were frequent visitors. It motivated him to get something done.

Even now, as he took half of his ripe tomatoes to the market to sell to some random person, he was wondering when they were going to visit. He wiped his brow, looking around to see if he could spot them on the streets. Antonio hoped with everything he had that Lovino would be with them this time. Even though he'd only seen the Italian for two days before he up and disappeared, Antonio had already grown an attachment.

Toni let out a soundless sigh as he wound his way to the market, the basket in his hands nearly overflowing with red tomatoes. As soon as he got there, men and women were already crowding around him, asking how high the price was for all of the tomatoes. Antonio hated to admit it, but he was pretty popular with the salesmen. Finally, he held out the basket to some guy who had yelled out for 22 Euros.

A few minutes later he was leaving the market with his basket and the said amount of Euros in hand. He had to admit, the man had probably made a mistake when he'd offered all of that money, but it wasn't like Antonio was going to complain. He then made his way to his job, which he didn't mind having.

Antonio smiled, standing in front of the Gelateria Artigianale Sbirulina. He really loved this place; it was the first place he had visited when he came into town. Toni opened the door, hearing the tinkling of the bell, and stepped inside as he walked to the back. He slipped on his uniform and joined his co-worker, Tino, at the front counter.

"Hello, Toni!" Tino greeted with a smile. He was a sort of short blonde Finnish man. Antonio enjoyed hearing his accent as it wasn't a type you usually hear around Italy. "Early again as usual. How's your day been?"

Tino and Antonio had worked together for nearly two years now at this place, so Toni had taught him sign language along the way. 'As good as it has been as of late,' Toni signed happily. 'I got an extra 22 Euros at the market for my tomatoes!'

Antonio looked up as the bell rang and grinned at the customer. Feliciano stepped inside, looking a bit exhausted. "Oh hey there Tino," he greeted, not noticing Antonio immediately. "Oh! Antonio! I didn't know you worked here! Wow, you learn something new every day. Sorry I didn't come see you this morning, Lovino and I forgot we had to do something today. I decided to stop by here while Lovi went ahead. I wish I'd dragged him here now, though." Feliciano continued to ramble, Toni having to hide his smile behind his hand.

The Finnish teen was already reaching under the glass counter, quickly dipping a few generous scoops of mocha gelato into a waffle cone without having to be asked. Feliciano traded the boy a few Euros for his cone, immediately digging into the dark-colored ice. After a few minutes, Feli finished the cone and chatted up a storm with the two foreigners before remembering Lovino and dashing out with a hasty wave goodbye.

"I didn't know you knew the prodigy twins," Tino mused. When Antonio gave him an odd look, he continued. "What? You didn't know? Yeah, those two were smart enough that at the age of sixteen they were bumped ahead to halfway through senior year. Lovino and Feliciano graduated before they were even close to turning seventeen. They were the talk of the town for a long time and got so many full scholarship offers that you wouldn't believe.

"That was about a year ago when you were still immersed in your studies, so I'm actually not that surprised you hadn't heard about their reputation. Lovino was also talked about for another reason, though. When the two decided to stay in town for a while, they got a lot of fans I guess you would say. When people actually got close enough to that hot-head, they would notice he didn't have a brand on his wrist."

Antonio blocked the Finn out as he continued on. He didn't know that Lovi and Feli were brilliant. He had sort of guessed that they were average, or even a little bit above average, but not by that much. If what Tino had said was true, it really backed the things Antonio had noticed before. The two looked young, especially Feliciano, and yet they never talked about high school.

About an hour of working later, one of their regulars, an American transfer student named Alfred walked in with a large group of people. Tino seemed to know them all, while Antonio was clueless. As they ordered, Tino pointed out who they were. It was a good thing Toni was good with names so that he could remember everyone, at least for the time being.

There was a British teen whose name was Arthur, but he didn't look too happy about being there. Arthur kept yelling and glaring, making Antonio pretty sure that no one really wanted him along. He was putting such a sour mood in the air. There was a kid in the corner who looked a lot like the American and whom no one really seemed to notice, though Tino spared him a glance and introduced him as Matthew.

Tino got in a conversation with four other teenagers who looked a bit like him. The Finn even kept Antonio in the conversation. Antonio couldn't help but to notice that the youngest-looking one looked very disinterested in everyone while the one with spiky hair was loud and interested in everything. There was a tall, intimidating man who looked a bit older than he probably was and a quiet blonde in the back of the group with a cross hairclip. Toni still liked Tino the best. Then he saw Lovino.

Lovino glanced around the crowded room, not really knowing why Feliciano had dragged him in here. He recognized a few people in the room from the streets, but didn't really know any of them personally. He'd heard their names and seen their pictures in the newspaper as students studying abroad in Italy. There was a larger group than normal and they were considered the best of the best in the countries they were from.

Lovino knew that there were more exchange students than the ones in this small shop, though. The town had nearly exploded with life when students from nearly every country came to live in the town as it was a hot-spot for different Universities. Some were in the west, others in the south, but Lovi had to admit that this was the ideal town to live in if you were offered many scholarships. He knew from experience.

He was shoved forward as a few more people crowded in. Lovi whipped around, about to yell, but stopped when he saw a little girl. "Excuse me," she said in a quiet voice. Lovino couldn't help but to notice the ribbon in her hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to push you, sir." The Italian nodded and turned, not willing to yell at a little girl. At least, she looked little to him.

"What did I tell you about talking to strangers?" Lovino heard a voice from behind him, no doubt talking to the girl. "You can talk to waiters and people at checkout aisles at the stores because you have to, but don't talk to random people you see! Something bad could happen."

Rolling his eyes, the elder Italian prodigy shoved his way through the people, nearly making a loud blonde with glasses drop his cone. "Not cool, dude!" The man said in English. Well, now Lovi knew which country he was from. He stopped walking when he saw Antonio in his white and black uniform.

Antonio was smiling at something a teen in the same uniform said to him before tilting his head to stare at Lovino with that burning green gaze of his. Lovino couldn't keep eye contact for more than a few seconds, but he was looking at him long enough to see that brilliant smile of his fade. Fiddling with his hands, tracing the last words Antonio had written in his hand with his thumb, Lovino turned to walk away.

He heard a thud, quick footsteps, and then a hand on his shoulder to spin him around. Lovino had to tilt his head up to glare at the man who was touching him. Lovi's eyes widened when he saw how close Antonio was. He could feel the elder's breath on his face and suppressed the urge to shudder as he felt not only Toni's eyes on him, but everyone else's as well.

Lovino finally thought of how to react. He whirled around, ripping Antonio's hand off of his shoulder, and stormed toward the door without a word. His feet had already led him around the corner before Toni caught up, no longer in that uniform. Feeling a growl rise up in his throat, he finally spoke.

"I don't want to see you. Go away. I never asked for you to be anywhere near me and I've refused every offer Feliciano has given me to see you. Can't you see that I don't like you?" Lovino felt his voice rising. "There's a reason I haven't been to see you! There's a reason I ran from you! I hate you and I hate those looks you always give me! Like right now you're giving me that hurt look."

Lovino trailed off, not even bothering to look at Antonio any longer. That is, until fingers were under his chin and jerking it up with enough force to make it hurt. Toni did not look sad anymore; actually, he looked quite angry. Looking into those eyes that Lovino had only ever seen full of happiness or hurt, Lovi almost didn't recognize who he was talking to. Antonio was a whole different person when he was angry.

After a moment of staring into each other's souls, Antonio released his grip and turned to walk away. He got about ten feet before Lovino felt the overwhelming urge to go after him. Before he knew what he was doing, his hand was on Antonio's wrist. Antonio turned his head to look at Lovino over his shoulder, his eyes cold and expression blank.

"I'm sorry." Lovino almost had to choke the words out. He wasn't used to saying sorry to anyone. In fact, he'd only ever said it twice to Feliciano. This time, after the initial apology, he couldn't stop the words from tumbling out. "I'm sorry I said that. I didn't mean it, I don't hate you. I don't know how I feel. We're supposed to be soul-mates but I haven't needed anyone in my life. I hate commitment and I'm not a people-person. I'm sorry, but it won't work."

Antonio rolled his eyes, making Lovino want to yell again before he noticed the smile tugging at the other man's lips. He felt a tug on his hand and Antonio started walking again, this time in another direction and beckoning for Lovi to follow him. Toni led the Italian all the way across the town and finally stopped in front of a library.

When Lovino raised an eyebrow, wondering just why Antonio had led him there, Antonio pulled him forward into the building. He was forced to wait at a table until Toni came back with an armful of books. He dropped them on the table, allowing Lovino to observe the titles.

"_A Guide to Sign Language_," Lovino read in an exasperated tone. Looking up at Antonio who nodded with his arms crossed and then back at the books, Lovi sighed. "I guess I'd better get started."


	6. Surprise Surprise

Another week had passed since Lovino had started to learn sign language. He'd taken home the books and had shown up at Antonio's apartment every day, staying for hours at a time to practice along with Feliciano and Ludwig. Antonio had gotten all three of them to master the alphabet and could now talk to them freely without having to use the notebook. He decided to teach them the more complicated motions of Italian sign language later on.

Antonio stood in front of the mirror, making sure he looked presentable. The three of them would be over at any minute and he didn't want to look like a train wreck for their entire visit. As if on cue, he heard his apartment door open. Feliciano didn't even bother to knock anymore. He'd figured out that the spare key was above the doorframe and helped himself inside any time he wanted to.

"Ciao!" Feliciano called. "Antonio, you won't believe who I met on the street earlier." Antonio walked into the living room to see Feli and Lovi already seated on his couch. Ludwig was nowhere to be seen, but that was normal. It was a weekday and he still had to attend classes. "I saw Ludwig's brother, Gilbert, again! I knew him when we were in classes together, but I'd thought he'd moved away or something. Ludwig never talks about him."

Antonio grinned. 'You saw Gilbert, huh? I know him, though I only met him once or twice. He would always show up at the ice cream shop and lately he's been coming with some French guy Tino told me was Francis.' Toni didn't think they understood how happy he was that they understood him. He could finally talk to someone other than Tino without getting a cramp from writing.

Lovino rolled his eyes, smiling faintly. 'He talks a lot,' he quickly signed to Antonio, not wanting Feliciano to know that he was talking about him. That was another thing Toni was happy about. Now that Lovino knew some sign language, they'd been signing each other messages without anyone else noticing. He loved the privacy, the jokes they'd shared, and the secrets they'd swore to tell no one.

"Hey Antonio, I know this might be a little bit rude, but what happened to your neck?" Feliciano asked innocently. Antonio tensed up immediately, just now noticing that he'd forgotten to wear something to hide the hideous scars on his neck. His hand traveled to his neck, feeling along the raised, pale marks that stood out against otherwise tanned skin.

"Feliciano," Lovino's mouth dropped. "Why would you ask that?" He quickly glanced at Toni, who was now looking away from them both. After a moment, Antonio went to make tea. He put in the usual ingredients, but this time he went a lot slower.

After a solid five minutes, Toni put the tea on the small coffee table and sat down on the floor opposite the twins. 'You two were going to find out sooner or later.' Antonio made sure to sign slowly as this would be a long story and didn't want to repeat any of it. They would have to get it the first time. 'I was originally from Spain. I was really popular, the best dancer and singer. I was requested for a lot of parties. My sisters were beautiful and they always took care of me.'

He paused for a moment, letting it sink in that he hadn't always been mute. 'Then one night we'd gotten paid a lot of money for performing for a rich couple in the middle of town. We knew the walk back wouldn't be through the safest neighborhood, but we thought we were safe. My sister, Casteel, knew a few types of martial arts. On the way home, though, we got jumped. They'd done their research on us I'm sure, because they got Casteel first from the rooftops. After that, they went after me. I ran, of course, and hid the money as I ran.'

Antonio took a break as he sipped his tea. He took a deep breath before continuing. 'The leader of the group caught up to me and tried to get me to talk. Then, when I wouldn't talk, he said I could either tell him now or know what it felt like to never be able to talk. And, well, now you know what happened to me.'

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes as they finished the tea. Finally, Feliciano spoke up. "Why didn't you tell them? It was only money, I'm sure you could have gotten it back." Lovino nodded when Feliciano asked this, but Antonio just shook his head.

'I saw them kill my sisters with my own eyes,' He explained calmly. 'I would rather be mute than tell them where any money was so that they could afford more weapons to keep doing things like that. So now I'm mute, used the money to pay the hospital bills and a plane ticket to Italy, and I met my soul-mate. I think meeting Lovino was worth it. If I had told them where the money was, then I wouldn't be here today.'

Antonio smirked when he caught the blush that immediately spread across Lovino's face. Even though Lovi pretended to pay Antonio no extra attention, Toni knew that he spared glances at him whenever he could and decided to use it to his advantage. 'Maybe one day we'll get married.'

Feliciano laughed as Lovino's face became an even darker shade of red. "Aww, fratello, your face is almost as red as one of Antonio's tomatoes! Do you like him, Lovi?" He asked, using an innocent tone of voice as he teased his elder brother.

After a few more hours of chatting and Feliciano asking about Spain, the two of them left with Ludwig, who had showed up at the door to take them home. Antonio waved goodbye to the three of them, shutting the door when they were down the stairs. He let out a silent sigh as he went to clean out the cups they'd used for tea and wash the dishes from the food Feli and Lovi had brought over for a snack.

He slipped off his shirt and changed into more comfortable pants before getting into his bed. It wasn't a very large bed at all, it was a twin-size. It was all he could afford by the time he'd gotten to Italy, but he'd been saving up for a new one as of late. Toni didn't know why he was so concerned about getting new furniture. It wasn't like Lovino and Feliciano cared how his apartment looked, and he was pretty sure Ludwig could have cared less.

In the middle of the night, there was a knock at the door. It woke Antonio up, but at first he'd thought he was imagining it. Who would be at his door at three in the morning, anyway? Probably no one, he thought as he turned over and closed his eyes.

He heard the sound again and rolled his eyes, getting up to open the door, revealing Lovino.

'Lovino,' He could barely see Antonio sign in the faint glow of the street lamp at the bottom of the stairs. 'What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night.' Lovino huffed as Toni looked down at him, obviously just having been woken up by his knocking.

"Sorry if I woke you," Lovino puffed out his cheeks before continuing. "I didn't even try to sleep yet, I guess I lost track of time. I can leave if you want, I was just mad that I couldn't understand this one sign language book. I was hoping you could help." He held up the said book.

Antonio shook his head and moved back, holding the door open for Lovino to slip inside. He flicked on the lights and Lovino noticed how much of a wreck Toni looked. His hair was tousled and sticking up everywhere as he rubbed his eyes. Lovi shut the door behind him, putting the book on the coffee table. "I won't stay long," he promised. "So you can go to sleep again soon."

They sat on the couch, Lovino nervously turning to the pages he couldn't quite perfect. Antonio bit his lip, looking at the figures showing how to do the signing with concentration before showing Lovino how to do it. 'These are the really complicated signs, I probably shouldn't have given you this book,' Antonio admitted when Lovino perfected the move.

Lovino shook his head. "I'm smart enough to get it. That's why I've been studying them for this entire week. I haven't just been practicing the alphabet like you told us. Feli and I have been trying to get a head-start." He flipped to another page, nearly getting the signing correctly.

'No,' Antonio smiled and would have been laughing if it weren't for his injury. 'Let me show you.' Lovino fully expected Toni to do the signing on his own, which was why he was completely surprised when Antonio grabbed his arms and did the motions with them. 'Like that!'

"Oh, okay." Lovino tried desperately to hide his blush at being so close to the Spaniard. He then imitated what Toni had done exactly. "Like this?"

They practiced and tried out different signs for different things, finishing in nearly an hour. Lovino had closed the book and stood to leave, but Antonio reached for his hand. When Lovi looked down at him, he signed quickly, 'Don't leave yet.'

Nodding slowly, Lovi sat down and put the book back on the table. "Do you want to go over it again or what? I thought you wanted to sleep." When Toni shook his head, he became even more confused. "Then what are we going to do? I'm getting sort of tired myself; I should probably be getting home."

Pouting, Antonio shook his head. 'I want to show you a phrase that wasn't in that book,' He signed, looking a bit nervous. 'If you want to know it, anyway, I'll show you. If not then you can leave. I don't mean to keep you awake if you're tired.'

"Yeah, sure, I don't mind learning it if it's quick." Lovino decided. He inwardly sighed, trying to look interested. He tilted his head as Antonio tapped his own chest, then crossed his arms over his chest, and then held his hand out to Lovino, palm up. Lovino quickly realized what that meant and his eyes widened.

"I um, don't know what to say to that," The Italian admitted, looking away. "If you actually meant that, anyway. If you meant that you love me." He was blushing madly and he knew it. Lovi hated that he'd let the blush creep to his face because he truly didn't know what he wanted. Did he want Antonio to love him? Did he want to love Antonio?

Lovino felt those slender fingers under his chin like he had that day one week ago and turned his head to look at Antonio. The Spaniard's face was inches from his own and they gazed into each other's eyes for what could have been a few seconds or a few years. Then there was no air separating the two and the Italian felt Antonio's lips on his own.

His eyes widened and he stiffened. After a split second he felt his eyes slipping shut and his head tilted by itself to get a better angle as he felt himself kissing back. Even though Lovino himself had absolutely no idea what to do, his body did. Within seconds, he found his own arms wrapped around Antonio's neck and the Spaniard's tongue twirling around his own.

A moan flew from his lips as he felt himself being pushed back onto the couch, Antonio on top of him. He felt the older teen's hands trail down his sides and rest on his hips as the kiss got more heated and passionate. Then, before Lovino knew it, it was over. Antonio broke the kiss and wrapped his arm around his waist. They both fell asleep on the couch, neither knowing exactly what had just happened.


	7. Party in the Fields

**Hey guys! Yeah I know, I've been writing a lot today, but it's to make up for yesterday and the day before that where I hardly got anything done. More than likely, this will probably be the last chapter of the night unless I get bored at three in the morning. I hope you guys enjoy!**

Antonio woke to gasps. He was laying on something soft, something that was rising and falling evenly. He didn't want to move. Toni was so comfortable, and for some reason he was happier than he thought he'd ever been. He raised his head to glare at the sound that had woken him and came face to face with Tino, Feliciano, and the tall man he had met in the ice cream shop named Berwald.

'What's going on,' He tried to sign, but trailed off as he closed his eyes again. Why was he so tired? Oh, that's right, Lovino had come over late last night. Toni immediately sat up as he realized that the thing he was laying on _was _Lovino. A dark blush came to his face when he remembered just what had happened last night with the kiss. And _oh god he had slept with Lovino._

Feliciano was starting down at them with wide eyes. "So that's where fratello went last night. He wasn't in his bed this morning and I couldn't find him in the house or in the yard. Well, I guess I found him." The younger twin's eyes swiveled around the two of them, probably looking for any signs of what happened last night.

'I'm sorry!' Antonio signed, panicking. 'He came over in the middle of the night and we practiced his sign language for a while before we fell asleep. Nothing bad happened that you might be thinking, I swear!' He decided to avoid mentioning the kiss that they'd had. He actually wasn't sure if it was a dream or real life. It had been rather late and they'd both been tired. And if Toni had remembered correctly, the Italian had kissed back. It had to have been a dream.

"It's alright," Tino smiled. "We both have the day off and I was wondering if you'd like to go meet the exchange students. All of them are out in the inner field today at a party Alfred, the American, dragged them to. I was heading down there with Berwald and we saw Feliciano coming over here, so we decided to invite you."

'Oh, yeah, I don't mind showing up. I just have to get dressed and everything. Wow, Lovino is a heavy sleeper isn't he? How is he not awake right now?' Grinning, the Spaniard looked up at Feli, who was also smiling.

"Yeah he does this a lot. Go get dressed, I'll wake him up. Don't worry." He promised in a cheery voice, literally doing the 'shoo' motions to Antonio until he got up and fled the room. He quickly dressed in a random shirt and some shorts, throwing on his hoodie. He didn't want another accident like yesterday and for people to notice the scars. They weren't exactly the most attractive markings.

By the time he had slipped on some shoes and stepped back into the main room, Lovino was awake and staring down at the signing book while Tino and Feliciano were immersed in a conversation. Berwald just stood there looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. Antonio hated to admit it, but the Swedish man scared him more than a little.

Leaving the book at Toni's and agreeing that all five of them would come back there later, they set off down the street, Feli and Tino laughing at something they were talking about. Berwald was always within five feet of the Finn as they walked and Antonio found himself wondering what their relation was. That is, until he saw Tino reach out for the taller man's hand. Toni connected the dots and realized that the two were probably dating.

He smiled to himself, but felt a pang in his chest. He was in the back of the group, Lovino having not so much as talked to him since the possible events of the night before. Antonio bit his lip, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked along behind everyone. Even though he liked peace and quiet, he found himself wishing that the others were talking to him, mainly the eldest Italian.

After about twenty minutes of walking around town, Antonio started to see a large group of people in the fields past the outskirts. They got closer and closer, Toni starting to spot people from different ethnicities. He saw a few Asians, a dark-haired teen with a herd of cats following him, Antonio even noticed a dark-skinned boy in clothes that looked like he came from some area like a desert.

When they joined the group where music was blaring, Antonio was greeted by a blonde with green eyes. At first, Antonio couldn't tell whether the person was male or female due to the hair and the clothes, but when he heard the voice, he settled on male. "Well hello there, you look nice! Would you like to join my fabulous self and my group of friends? My name's Feliks."

Toni winced, bringing his hand out of his pocket to sign his name. The teen, Feliks, just stood there looking at him with confusion. Suddenly there was another male with shoulder-length brown hair dragging the blonde away. "Feliks, he's mute! I'm sorry about my friend, won't happen again."

Toni was just left blinking. He didn't know what to think about that other than that this entire group was probably the weirdest gathering of people in the history of Italy. But then he remembered that he was Spanish and mute, so he couldn't quite complain about the others being weird. After a while, he was joined by an Asian in flowing white and blue robes with an odd curl.

"Hi! You look Spanish, are you Spanish? I don't think I've seen another Spanish kid in the group." He then looked behind him, eyes widening before he took off. "My name's Im Yong Soo if you want to talk to me later! Gotta run!" He had the liberty to yell over his shoulder. Within seconds, what looked like an older version of the loud teen pushed past Toni in pursuit.

Antonio was left staring as the latter tackled the first Asian, both of them rolling around and throwing punches. He would have laughed pretty loudly if he could have, but instead he settled for shaking his head and grinning widely. He turned around, looking through the crowd to see if he knew anyone. Of course, with his luck, he knew none of the people he saw immediately and couldn't spot the Italians or Tino.

Walking over to the buffet table that someone had set up somehow, Antonio started pointing at random things while the Chinese man started talking to him as he fixed the plate according to the Spaniard's demands. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around once he had his plate in hand.

Lovino had a glass of some random liquid, taking a sip from it as Antonio looked at him. "Ciao, Toni," He said, smiling faintly at the taller man. He felt his heart beating nearly out of his chest as his eyes locked with those familiar deep green orbs of Antonio's. They moved to a bench and Lovi let the other eat, watching with amusement as he cleared the plate quickly.

They sat in silence after he finished, Lovino taking occasional sips of the drink he'd been handed by Tino. He was pretty sure it was some type of soda. "So," He decided to begin. "What was last night?" As soon as the question was out of his mouth, Toni whipped his head up and stared at Lovi with wide eyes. Lovino noticed him bite his lip and fiddle with his hands.

'I'm sorry,' Antonio signed. 'I just wanted to kiss you so badly and when you kissed back I didn't think you would mind if I just kept kissing you. If you don't ever want to do that again, I don't mind. We don't have to kiss or be anything but friends if you're not comfortable.'

Lovino felt really bad that he hadn't worded his question differently. Now Antonio thought he didn't want to be kissed. He used one hand to rub his temples when he realized what he had just thought. _Did_ he want to be kissed by Antonio? He had thought before that he really didn't want much to do with the Spaniard, but now he wasn't so sure. He couldn't deny the way he had kissed back the night before or the way he had wanted to keep kissing when the older teen had pulled away.

"It's not that," Lovino found himself saying, making the other look at him with surprise. "I was the one who kissed back. And I guess I got my answer since I asked what the kissing was about. I still don't know if I want to spend my entire life with anyone, but I've never actually come anywhere close to kissing someone. I've never wanted to kiss anyone at all, much less want more of it."

The Italian was blushing darkly by the time he fell silent. He knew long, sappy speeches weren't really his thing. He was the one that was usually angry and sarcastic about everything, even when he knew he should say something nice. With Antonio, though, he had to make an effort to say mean things to cover up what he was really feeling. Right now, he was either too lazy to say something blunt or didn't see the point in it.

Feeling a hand reach out and take his own, Lovi had to force his own fingers to curl around the other ones when he really felt like hiding his face. He felt like curling up and dying for saying all of that, but he forced himself to stay seated and to allow Antonio to take his hand.

The day passed and they met a lot of people Lovino didn't even try to remember the names of. He really just wanted to stay close to Antonio. Even as they walked back with Feliciano's and Tino's laughter ringing in his ears, he just wanted to be alone with the Spaniard like the night before.

When they got inside, Feliciano and Tino talked about the people they'd met and how funny their new friends were. Lovi could barely sit through Tino explaining who he'd already known there and what they were like for future reference. It was like he was giving everyone a 'To Do' and a 'Do Not Do' list for each of the people there. Finally, everyone walked over to the door to leave.

"I'll catch up later," Lovino promised when Feli held the door open. He watched as his twin just shrugged and left the apartment. As soon as the door was closed, Lovi felt arms around his waist and he tilted his head back to meet Antonio's gaze. "Ciao, Toni, are you glad I stayed?"

He didn't have to see Antonio nod to know that he was thoroughly relieved that Lovino had stayed with him. Lovi finally gained enough courage to turn to face Toni, the latter's arms still wrapped around the Italian's waist. Said Italian didn't even try to stop Antonio as the Spaniard captured his lips. Once again, his arms wrapped around Toni's neck and he deepened the kiss as he felt the arms around his waist tighten.

After a while, Lovino broke the kiss and just looked up at the man he now knew he'd come to love. "Is it too late for me to admit that I think I like you, too?" Lovi felt his heart flutter at the small smile tugging at the other's lips. Antonio shook his head and pulled Lovino even closer before the two of them melted into yet another kiss.


	8. Double Date

**Okay loves, well, as of right now I have this entire story planned out. It's going to have 15 chapters and let me just tell you, I expect my notifications to be very high near the end. Enjoy the fluff and cuteness of this chapter, admin out~!**

"Lovi," Antonio turned to see a woman with long brown hair in a dress racing toward the teen beside him. "I haven't seen you in ages!" The Spaniard yanked his hand away from Lovino's as the lady tackled him. Toni couldn't help but to laugh silently as she hugged Lovino tightly before getting up, helping him up as well.

"Elizaveta? What are you doing here? I thought you left town with that dumb boyfriend of yours." Lovino rolled his eyes, brushing himself of and addressing the woman who had attacked him. He brushed his hair out of his face, Antonio entwining their fingers again.

It had been a few days since the party in the fields and Lovino didn't seem very opposed when Antonio introduced him, to people he probably already knew, as his boyfriend. Even now, Toni was tracing words in the back of Lovi's hand. Lovino either didn't notice, or was very good at faking as he was talking to the lady Antonio supposed was Elizaveta.

"He's not stupid!" She practically yelled. "He's highly intelligent and I like it when he plays the piano. He's very precise." Antonio and the lady both looked at Lovino who was now trying to hide his laugh and Toni heard something that sounded suspiciously like 'precise with what?' That's when he figured out that the Italian was probably not as innocent as he had originally thought.

After a few more seconds, Antonio noticed a tall, rich-looking man walking toward them. He stood stiff next to Elizaveta, who noticed him finally. "Oh, Roderich, I found Lovino! I told you the twins were probably still in town. They wouldn't want to leave their restaurant!"

The man, Roderich, merely nodded. "Shall we go look for Feliciano? There's no reason for us to try to communicate with this troublemaker." He seemed to look down at Lovino from behind his glasses before turning around. Elizaveta merely followed behind him, waving a hasty goodbye.

Antonio had never seen Lovino truly angry. Right now, he found out how happy he was that he hadn't seen it earlier. He watched as Lovi's features contorted into pure hatred, his eyes glaring and darkening that mix of amber and green Antonio had found so beautiful. The grip on his hand tightened so much that it felt like his hand were caught in a trap as Lovino shook with anger.

"So I'm a troublemaker, huh, you damn bastard?" Antonio head Lovi say, his voice dark. "Maybe I should give you a reason to call me that." It took all the Spaniard's strength to drag Lovino away from the retreating couple. He didn't know what Lovino had in mind, but he knew it couldn't have been good. Instead, he decided to distract the Italian.

'What did she mean when she said the two of you wouldn't want to leave your restaurant?' Antonio signed to Lovi as they walked. 'Do you own one? Is that why you didn't leave for all those colleges you got accepted into?'

Lovino sighed. "Well we both sort of own this place called Trattoria Armoguasto. It ran in some other family before getting really bad, but then we ended up sponsoring them because we were the famous kids around here as long as we got to cook the food. We're the best cooks in town, apparently."

'Why didn't you tell me?' Antonio's mouth fell open. 'I'm going to go there soon! Just tell me when you're working and I'll go visit! I want to try some of your cooking.' He could hardly contain his excitement as he signed, going on about how he was sure it would be some of the best cooking he'd ever had.

After a few minutes, Antonio had Lovi smiling again. They walked down the street, hand in hand, before Antonio felt someone tap his shoulder. He stopped, looking back at the woman from earlier. "Hi again, I didn't catch your name. I'm guessing by the hand-holding, you're Lovino's boyfriend. Tonight Roddy and I have reservations to the place they own. Feli's the cook tonight if you'd like to join us for a double date."

Antonio, once again, became excited even though Lovino wouldn't be the cook. 'Yeah, sure, that sounds like fun!' He signed, forgetting that not many people actually knew sign language. That and he had been signing in Italian sign language when, the entire time, Elizaveta had been speaking English. Did she even know Italian?

She just giggled a bit before signing back at him. 'Nice to meet you, cutie,' in Italian sign language, making Toni's eyes widen. Lovino was in the same condition. "Eliza, I didn't know you knew sign language! By the way, only I can call him cute. You can call him Antonio." Antonio blushed faintly at the idea of Lovi thinking he was cute. He'd never said anything like that before!

"The reservation is at seven tonight!" Eliza called, already running off. "Nice to meet you, _Antonio_!" She added, laughing at the end. Antonio had to admit that he sort of liked her. She seemed fun to talk to, but he didn't at all like her taste in men. Roderich would no doubt sour Lovino's and Antonio's mood as they ate, but Toni wanted to go anyway.

Antonio smiled faintly at her, turning to continue their walk. 'Want to go to your house to get ready? It's already five.' He signed as they walked. '_Oh crap! _I don't have anything to wear! All I have are a few band tees and a sweatshirt!'

"That's your fault," Lovino laughed. "I think something we have might fit you. Ludwig comes over a lot, so worse come to worse, you might be stuck wearing something of that damn German's." Lovino then started to grumble to himself about how much he hated Feliciano's soul-mate as they changed their route to take them to the Italian twins' home.

Antonio smiled to himself, enjoying the small crowds of people passing near the two of them as they walked along the streets. Despite living here for two years and spending nearly a month with the Italian twins, he still didn't know his way around the town very well. It also didn't help that he wasn't the best with directions in the first place and was very likely to get lost, even on his way to the gelato shop. It was a miracle that he'd gotten to Feli's and Lovi's house the first time.

When Lovino led Antonio to the house, Antonio took a look around, actually appreciating the house for the first time. They kept the place up nicely, it looked better than most of the surrounding places. They walked inside, Lovino showing him around so that they could both get ready.

They were sitting at the table, Lovino sipping from a glass of tea. He was sitting across from Antonio and next to Eliza. He was never going to be caught dead anywhere near that damn aristocrat. Toni was smiling at him, making him blush faintly. It was weird for him to think of himself as taken. Technically he was, technically he and Antonio were together now. But it still felt weird to him.

"So, Antonio, tell us a little bit about yourself," Elizaveta piped up. She was eating from a salad that had come out before her meal. Lovino knew everything on the menu by heart and knew exactly how everything was made. He'd had a hard time choosing. "All I know about you is that you're taken, cute, mute, and your name."

Lovino rolled his eyes when Elizaveta had mentioned the word cute. Antonio just smiled, looking over at her. 'Well I'm from Spain. I used to be a dancer until I moved here. I've applied for a job at lots of dance places here in Italy since then, but it's been two years and I haven't heard from any of them so I'm supposing that I'll have no luck. I was an honor student in high school, but I'm nowhere near as smart as Lovino or Feliciano.'

Lovino noticed how he, along with Elizaveta, had hung onto every sign Antonio had made intently. He would have laughed at that, but he was beginning to realize just how little he really knew about the Spaniard across from him. He only knew what Toni told him and, so far, that wasn't much. The older teen didn't prefer to talk about his past.

The Hungarian girl's eyes widened. "Wow! You were a dancer? That's amazing! Can you teach me some moves someday? I'll even pay you if you want. I don't know anything besides the usual formal dance styles for the parties Roderich takes me to sometimes."

Antonio nodded, grinning. 'Yeah, sure I'll teach you. I was hoping I could start my own classes here until I can find an actual job. Maybe I'll get a few others to join.' The whole time he signed, he was looking at Lovino. Lovi found himself looking away, trying to hide his blush.

"Oh Lovi can dance!" Elizaveta exclaimed, earning her a glare from Lovino. "What? You're a good dancer! You and Feliciano both are. I wish I'd known sooner that you could, I would have had you both teach me and maybe I could have impressed Antonio with my amazing moves."

'What about you, Eliza? I can call you that, right? Tell me about yourself. I feel sort of left out when everyone else knows you.' Toni signed with a pout near the end. Lovino smiled, thinking the pout looked irresistible, particularly so with Antonio's already adorable features.

Elizaveta smiled. "Of course you can call me that. I'm from Hungary, by the way. I came to Italy when I was younger. This was the town I was in when I met Roddy. I'm actually considerably older than I look; I'm actually ten years older than Lovino. We were walking along the street about seven or so years ago when we just saw these two twins on the side of the road. We took them in and, well, here we are."

'Wow, Lovi! She's like your mom, then, huh?' Antonio signed, surprised. 'Well I did not think you were as old as you said you were. I'm sure Feliciano and Lovino were happy to have you in the family. You're really nice; I see why Lovino and Roderich like you.' Lovi knew that no one else caught the way his hand twitched ever-so-slightly when he signed Roderich's name. He then knew that Antonio didn't like Roderich nearly as much as he pretended.

Within seconds of Toni signing that, Feliciano himself came out to their table with the food. "Ciao, everyone, I decided to come out and give you your food myself. The other tables can wait on their food. How are you, Eliza~?" Feliciano smiled and spoke cheerily as he handed them their plates. Lovino knew he wasn't supposed to be out of the kitchen when there were other customers to serve, but he wasn't going to say anything. They were the owners now, after all.


	9. Harsh Decisions

Antonio was coming back from the market. It had been a year since he and Lovino had met in the exact spot he was standing now. He'd been alone for the last month of that time. Lovino and Feliciano had had to leave the town for a business trip. The restaurant was no longer theirs, but luckily Antonio had gotten to taste a bit of cooking at his own house.

He was no longer living in an apartment. He'd gotten a job at the library shelving books. With those two jobs, he'd gotten enough money to split the bills with the two Vargas twins. Toni was then given the job to keep up the house when the two siblings had gone away, which he had done quite well if you asked him.

Even with those two jobs, though, Antonio still sent applications to dance studios, but this time, he searched locally. There were a few places that caught his eye in nearby towns and he sent in requests to every studio he could find. He decided that when he got a good dancing job, he would quit the other two. He would miss Tino at the ice cream shop, he knew. He would also miss the others that had applied for jobs there while they stayed to finish their studies.

Smiling to himself, Antonio remembered the quiet boy, Matthew, who had worked with him before finding his soul-mate. He'd been surprised to see Gilbert walk in the store and Matthew drop the ice-cream scoop he'd been holding as soon as the albino addressed him. Antonio shook his head. He didn't see how such a quiet, sweet guy could be soul-mates with a hot-headed, loudmouth like Gilbert. That wasn't to say that he didn't like Gilbert. The two of them had become good friends over the past year.

He also remembered the Chinese man who he'd come to know as Yao, who had burst in through the door while running away from a large Russian man named Ivan. At first, Tino and Antonio had thought that the Russian was aiming to hurt the small man, but then they realized that he had just said something hurtful and Yao had stopped in for a quick gelato to calm down. Yao really was a fiery guy, Antonio smiled.

Antonio smiled even wider when he remembered how many friends he'd made since he met Lovino. He couldn't even count them all on his fingers! Making a list in his mind, he counted them. He'd become friends with Gilbert, his French friend Francis, Yao, he had a sort of rivalry friendship with the Englishman Arthur, Elizaveta, the Greek Heracles, the Japanese teen named Kiku, Berwald had become a good friend along with the three other Scandinavians who were always hanging around Tino, and even Ludwig.

He didn't let himself think of the enemies he'd made, though. What use was there to dwell on people who were unlikable and usually went out of their way to make his day miserable? Antonio got to the house he now shared and opened the door, putting away the things he'd gotten. Lovino and Feliciano were due to return today and he wanted the refrigerator to be fully stocked in case of a celebratory meal. Feliciano had a tendency to do things like that.

Sighing, he decided to go check the mail. If there were bills in there, they needed to be paid immediately, even if Lovino and Feliciano weren't there to pay their own half. They would probably make it up to him later, he had no doubt. Antonio made his way outside to the small mailbox. As he walked back inside, he flipped through the envelopes.

Luckily, there were no bills. He did find a paper addressed to him, though, which he found odd. He went to the table, putting the papers addressed to the Italian twins on the counter along with the rest of the stack. Taking a seat, his eyes skimmed the paper. His eyes were wide by the time he finished and he had to reread the sheet in front of him five times.

_Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, it pleases us to inform you that though we could not find a job that is as advanced as you claim your abilities are in our studio, we have found a job offer that may interest you. In Florence, Italy, there is a teaching slot open in a studio called TangoAtelier. We think this would suit you because it deals with Italian, Spanish, and even African cultural dances. We are sure you would be more familiar with the Spanish forms of dance, which they offer and we do not…_

The document kept going, including a map of Italy with his town and Florence marked. He winced when he saw that he was near the eastern coast of Italy, and Florence was, in fact, halfway across the country. If he took this job, the only one he had been offered in his three years of being here, then he would either have to take Lovino with him or risk their connection fading, even with their soul-mate status.

Antonio took a deep breath, crossing his fingers that Lovi would agree to come with him. Dancing was his dream, he knew that Lovino knew that, but he wasn't sure if the Italian was willing to leave his twin in a small town by himself for possibly the rest of his life. If Lovino didn't come, then he was sure he could find time to drive on a weekend here and there, or whenever he could spare a day off, but he wasn't sure if it would be enough. Even with a month of not seeing his difficult Italian lover, Antonio was ready to just break down. He missed Lovi more than he would care to admit.

He quickly tucked the paper into his pocket as he heard the front door open. Quickly, his worries were forgotten when he stood and turned to see Lovino walk in the door, Feliciano barely a footstep behind him. As soon as the door was shut, Lovino and Antonio just stood there, regarding each other in silence.

It took Feliciano giving Lovino a slight push forward to halt their stares. Right when Feli pushed Lovi forward the tiniest bit, he was running. Antonio held open his arms and the Italian ran right into them, hugging him so tightly that the Spaniard could hardly breathe, but he didn't care. His own arms wrapped around the smaller teen to pull him as close as he could.

"I missed you," Antonio heard that amazing voice say near his ear, the same voice he had been dying to hear ever since the Italian had stepped outside the house. "I missed you so much." Lovino continued, getting a bit choked up. Toni felt a smile tug at his lips, slowly growing larger. He kissed the top of Lovi's head, pushing a lock of his hair behind his ear.

When they pulled away, Feliciano was already in the kitchen, delving into the cabinets and the fridge in search of ingredients. 'I missed you, too,' Antonio signed with a smile. 'It's so boring without my little Italian making smartass comments under his breath when I watch a stupid movie.'

"Shut up," Lovi said before breaking out into a grin. Antonio would ask him about the paper later.

"Antonio?" Lovino asked as he was about to retire to his room for the night. "Is something wrong? You've been acting a bit weird today ever since dinner." His eyebrow was raised at the Spaniard who was shifting his weight nervously. Antonio had been looking like he wanted to say something for a long time, but was holding back for some reason, which made Lovino worry.

Lovi saw Toni take a deep breath. 'I got a paper in the mail. It was about those dance classes I've been hoping to get. Do you remember those applications I said I would send out when you two left?' Antonio looked really nervous, Lovino noticed as he tilted his head. He nodded.

'Well I got one back in the mail. Except, I didn't get accepted into the one I'd actually sent an application to.' He looked away for a split second. 'I got one recommending me for another dance studio. In Florence.' With the last word, Lovino's eyes widened.

"That's halfway across the country, Antonio." Lovi sighed. "Did you know that?"

'Yeah, I have the map right here.' One of Toni's hands reached into his pocket to pull out the sheet of paper he had been talking about. He handed it to Lovino, letting the Italian read through it. Lovino searched through every word of the paper, studied the map, and then repeated those steps.

"You aren't going to accept, are you?" Lovino felt sort of bad as he saw Antonio flinch at his words. "I mean, you'll be a while away. We won't be able to see each other as much."

'I know,' Antonio signed in reply. 'And I really would hate to drop this on you now, especially since you just got back. You could come with me. We could both live there, just me and you living together. Of course, you don't have to come if you don't want!'

Lovino just looked at him. "And leave Feliciano here? Antonio, there's a reason I didn't take any of those scholarships. When I found out that Feli was staying here in town to work at the old restaurant, I dropped everything. I stayed with him, Toni. Nothing has changed since then. Sure, I love you and you're my soul-mate, but I love him and he's my brother. I'm not leaving him here to fend for himself!"

Antonio looked nearly broken by the time Lovino had finished speaking. 'Do you have any idea how much dancing means to me? I thought you did, but maybe I was wrong. I love you more than I love a lot of things. If I have to choose between my life-long dream and you, Lovino, I don't know what to do.'

"Well figure it out!" Lovi snapped. "I'm not leaving Feliciano and that's final. I know dancing means just about everything to you, but if something happened to Feli and I wasn't here, I wouldn't _stop _blaming myself. So I'm not going to let that happen. Go to your dance classes if they mean so much to you. If not, then just stay here."

He didn't even spare the one he'd come to love a second glance as he entered his room and closed the door, collapsing on the bed. Why would Antonio even _think _about leaving him? Didn't he love him? Lovino knew that he couldn't leave Feliciano to be alone and not just because of Ludwig. If something happened and Lovino couldn't be there to save him, Lovino wouldn't know how to live his life anymore.

If Antonio cared that much about dancing, then let him go. Lovino would let him dance to his heart's content and hopefully they could meet up as much as possible. And yet, even as he closed his eyes and shoved his face in the pillow, he couldn't help but to pray to whatever God was out there that Antonio wouldn't leave. He wanted Toni to stay.


	10. Make-Ups and Secrets

As soon as the door slammed shut, Antonio broke down. He tried to wipe away the tears and moved forward, resting his forehead against Lovino's door. He wanted to open the door so bad and apologize for even considering leaving Lovi. Antonio didn't want to leave his lover and he didn't want to hurt him. He sat down, back against the door, hugging his knees and resting his head against his knees. Why was he so stupid?

He fell asleep like that after a few hours, his eyes swollen and dry of tears. He woke up the next morning in the same position and rose up, stretching out his aching limbs. Blinking sleep out of his eyes, Antonio brushed his hair back. He knew he would have to give Lovino his decision today. He didn't want any tension between them, especially since the Italian had just gotten home.

Mouth wide in a yawn, Antonio went to go fix himself a small breakfast. It would help him think. Slipping a piece of bread in the toaster, Toni sat at the table and stared off into space. Tracing shapes into the wooden table with his fingers, he concentrated. This decision would shape his whole life, for better or for worse.

Antonio thought about how miserable his life would be without coming home to his cute little Italian. He really didn't want to think about that, but he also didn't want to bum off of the two for the rest of his life. Even though he paid half of every bill, they were sharing his house with him and Antonio felt like he owed them a bit more. He needed his own place, but he didn't have enough money yet.

Toni then thought about how much he enjoyed dancing. Sure, he hadn't done it in years except for those short hour-long moments when Elizaveta came around to learn a few things, but that didn't change how much he loved it. Whenever the house was empty, he would turn on some music and just dance by himself for a few minutes, though he hadn't done anything formal or any romantic dancing.

When the toast popped out, Antonio jumped. He retrieved it and bit into the bread, contemplating as he ate. He would stay with Lovino no matter what. Toni could try to save up for his own studio or get a few people to sign up for individual lessons. That should be no problem, he would just have to make fliers or ask around.

He turned, about to go tell Lovi his decision, before seeing said Italian leaning against the doorframe with a blank expression. "Ciao," he said with no emotion in his voice. Antonio noticed that he looked like a train wreck. Lovi was only wearing a long shirt that went to his knees, normal for him in the mornings, but his hair was usually near perfect even when he would just wake up. This time, though, his hair looked like a bird had decided to make it a nest and his eyes had dark circles under them as if he hadn't gotten much sleep.

'Hola,' Antonio signed, staring at the wreck of a boy in front of him. 'I've decided what I'm going to do about the dance studio. I'm not going. If you're staying here, then so am I. I've already done without you for a month and it was one of the worst experiences in my life. I can't imagine spending years like that, only able to see you every now and then when neither of us are busy.'

Lovino sighed, pushing a strand of hair out of his face. "Listen, you can go if you'd like. I'm sorry for yelling last night. It was pretty selfish of me to want you to give up your dream. I don't really want that, I'm not the best person in the world, but even I'm not that messed up. So, if you want to leave, then go. We can take days off to see each other whenever we can." He trailed off, obviously knowing that it would never work out if Antonio left.

Antonio tossed his half-eaten breakfast into the trash can and walked over to Lovino, wrapping his arms around him. 'I'm not leaving you. Don't worry.' He signed, shifting so that Lovi could see the words his hands made. The Spaniard smiled to himself when he felt Lovino's arms around him as well, hugging back. Toni was a bit sad about having to decline on the studio, but he was so happy that he made the decision. He would have missed everything about his little Lovi.

They pulled away from each other after a few more moments, Antonio smiling down at the elder twin. Lovino looked away, a blush dusting his face. "Thanks. For staying, I mean." He paused for a moment before tilting his head up to look Toni in the eyes. "I love you."

Antonio's heart stopped. In the entire year they'd been dating, Lovino had never said those words to him. When he would sign it, he would merely be rewarded with a blush from the fiery Italian and a playful shove. Never had those words been signed back, or even said. That is, until now. Antonio knew right then that he would never forget that moment and that he was the luckiest man in the world.

He hugged Lovino tightly, kissing the top of his head repeatedly. And for once, the Italian didn't complain. 'I love you, too,' Antonio mouthed, though Lovi couldn't see. Toni pulled away, tilting Lovino's head up to steal a quick kiss. 'I love you so much.'

Feliciano then swept into the room, determined to make a large breakfast. Antonio smiled as he heard Feli hum to himself as he cooked, sparing a moment to say "good morning" to the both of them. After that, the day went by as it usually did in the Vargas household. They ate breakfast, talking and laughing as they did so. They told Antonio all about their trip, which included them explaining just why it was awful and why they were never leaving town again for anything.

Then, Ludwig showed up. He just walked right in like he usually did; showering Feli with hugs and kisses as a greeting. "Welcome back," He said as he held the smaller Italian close. "How was your trip?" And with that, they explained all over again, in even more detail, how much their business trip ruined their lives. Antonio grinned widely, enjoying both of the twins complaining over something. It was just about the only time they got along.

Feliciano and Ludwig had decided to take a walk later on, leaving Lovi and Antonio to make dinner. Toni didn't mind, though, because Lovino had been teaching him how to make Italian food for almost six months. Antonio smiled as he worked, boiling water for some pasta. He was listening to music on his phone, signing the words quickly since it was as close as he could get to ever singing again.

Before long, Lovino slipped the pasta noodles into the boiling water and started to hum the song. It was in Spanish, so he didn't really know the lyrics at all, but he liked the tune. Lovi looked up at Antonio, who was absently signing the words to the song as he stirred the pasta, making sure it wouldn't stick to the bottom of the pot. He began chopping up tomatoes to make fresh sauce for when the pasta would finish cooking, stopping his humming when the song changed.

Feliciano and his German soul-mate slipped into the kitchen, returning from their walk. Well, Lovino was pretty sure walking wasn't all the two of them had been doing on the streets, but he just decided to ignore it. He continued to make the sauce, feeling Antonio's eyes on him after he waved to the two who had entered. Feli had already rushed to get the table ready while Ludwig grabbed plates and handed them to Toni for when the pasta got finished.

Toni served the pasta, holding each plate out to the Italian for a generous scoop of the sauce he'd made, before giving the plates to Ludwig. The blonde then placed each of the four plates at the table and took the seat next to Feliciano. Antonio kissed Lovino quickly, smirking before he sat down, knowing that Lovi hadn't expected the quick peck. Within a few seconds, the elder Italian was seated next to the Spaniard, seeking his hand under the table.

'So, Ludwig,' Lovi saw Antonio sign with his free hand after eating a little bit. 'You're almost out of school now, right? Just another month and it'll be over for you.' He then began eating again, waiting for the German's answer.

"Ja, it's almost finished. Good thing, too," He rolled his eyes, which was surprising for Lovi because Ludwig never really did things like that. "Mein bruder has been bothering me a lot lately about school. Gilbert thinks that I'm not trying my hardest since I don't spend hours each night studying for exams. I don't need to; I'm confident that I will pass."

The two of them chatted about what Ludwig was hoping to do after graduating, which Lovino didn't really find interesting at all. He wasn't much of a people-person and really just preferred to stay away from long, drawn-out conversations. Unlike Feliciano. He sighed when Antonio got up, announcing that he was going to bed. He had to get up early to report to his job at the library and wanted to get enough sleep.

Lovino followed him to his room. "Good night," he said, sighing. He didn't want Antonio to go to bed. "I'll see you tomorrow. I'll probably end up stopping by the gelato shop when I'm looking for a new job." Lovi moved to turn away and head to his own room before Antonio grabbed his wrist. Lovino looked up at Toni quizzically before he felt those lips on his own. Antonio tasted like tomatoes.

'Good night, cutie," Antonio smirked when he pulled away. He then bit his lip before signing, 'I love you.'

"I love you, too," Lovino admitted for the second time. One thing he wasn't going to admit, however, was that he had a stash of money piling up for a procedure that would give Antonio his voice back. He didn't need to know about that until there was enough money that Lovino had saved up. "Sleep well."


	11. Dancing and Fun

Antonio grinned and clapped, looking at the exhausted woman in the sparkling green dress in front of him. 'Great, Eliza! You've got that one down. Now take a break, I'm going to go work with the others.' He did just that, watching to make sure she sat down and got a drink before moving over to a younger girl in a similar green dress, her elder brother beside her.

'How's Lily doing?' He signed. Toni had made everyone in his new dance class learn the sign alphabet. The group was still small, so it had actually been pretty easy. 'Did she watch Eliaveta?' Without waiting for an answer, Antonio motioned for the two of them to go through the dance, music still playing in the background.

The two began to dance, the younger girl with a huge smile plastered to her face and her dress swinging and swishing around her legs. Antonio smiled even wider when he saw the usually so restricted Swiss man relax into the dance, his own smile dusting his lips. That was one of the many things Antonio loved about teaching the dance classes. He got to see so many stressed-out or shy people become relaxed and happy as they learned how to express themselves.

Looking around the room, he noticed the count was larger than it usually was. He'd asked Feliciano and Lovino to help him out with his teachings, so the two of them were always making sure the people Antonio couldn't get to right away were doing well. Toni noticed that this time, Gilbert and his soul mate along with the American, Alfred, were there. This was their first time and it looked as if they had just walked in the door.

As if to verify his thoughts, Feliciano walked up to them. "Ciao! I didn't expect to see you three here! Especially, you Alfred, what are you three doing here?" Antonio tuned the chatter out as he watched the end of the two's display. They stopped when the music stopped and, since the beat picked up a lot near the end, Lily's face was red and her chest was heaving.

'You did great!' Toni grinned. 'Almost as good as Lovino can do. Take a break, that's a hard song to dance to.' He turned when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Alfred was behind him, holding up an old-looking album. "Hey, do you have a record player? If you do, can I play this music? Most of the songs are love songs so they're easy to dance to! And they're oldies, so it's not that fast-paced like most of the other American songs you hear!"

Antonio sighed and jerked his thumb at a very old record player that he'd kept for ages. It had belonged to his mother, or, that was what Casteel had told him anyway. So he'd kept it, even though it had been hidden away in his apartment and then the Vargas's attic until he found a use for it in the small warehouse he was able to teach his dances in. Alfred's eyes lit up immediately and he ran over to the thing, putting in his old record.

Music started playing immediately, though Antonio didn't recognize the song. He didn't listen to much American music, much less ones that were no doubt decades old. It was a slow song, though, so people who were exhausted before got up to try out the slow-dance moves Toni had tried to teach them before.

Antonio looked around the room, noticing everyone dancing. Feliciano was dancing with Lovino, the latter rolling his eyes as Feli giggled. Gilbert was dancing with Matthew, who kept apologizing whenever he would step on the albino's foot. Eliza was up again and twirling with Roderich while Tino grinned as he danced with his Swedish soul-mate. The song was off quickly, a soft clicking noise cueing the start of another.

Before Toni knew it, Lovino was in front of him with his hand out. "Wanna dance?" He asked, face red. Antonio nodded eagerly, taking the Italian's hand and immediately placing his other hand on the Lovi's waist. He smirked, leading them through the steps of the foxtrot as the music started and a man and woman's voice sang together in a duet. Toni found that he quite enjoyed the song and concentrated on the lyrics as well as Lovino's eyes, tucking the words away for future use.

_Slowly but surely I'm falling in love_

_Falling in love with you_

_Slowly but surely you're winning my heart_

_And you're winning my heart too_

_Slowly but surely I'm losing my heart_

_And I'm losing my heart to you_

_Slowly but surely my dreams will come true_

_If I spend my lifetime with you_

_You're just what I wanted_

_You're just what I needed_

_You're my every dream come true_

_My life's growing stronger_

_I can't wait much longer_

_I'm falling in love with you_

_Slowly but surely I'm falling in love_

_Yes I'm falling in love_

_Falling in love with you_

As the music faded and the song ended, Antonio smiled softly to Lovino. He knew that though it didn't take him long to fall in love, Lovino hadn't fallen so quickly. It was like the song was made for the fiery Italian, which Antonio found adorable. Lovi had probably come to the same conclusion, for his face was blood-red by the time the song changed. The two of them danced the entire day, teaching the others new moves as a duo until it was well into the night and time to go home.

"Antonio," Lovino bit his lip when the Spaniard had his hand on the doorknob to his own room. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" When Toni took his hand off of the door and nodded, Lovino took a deep breath. "We've been together for over a year now. And, well, um…" He trailed off, not even quite believing what he was thinking. What if Antonio said no? What if he didn't want anything more?

When Antonio tilted his head, Lovino turned away. "No, it's nothing. I'm just being stupid." He tried to run into his room quickly, but didn't get more than three steps before he was spun around and those lips that he loved were pressed against his, making a shock like electricity run through his body. Lovino could never get enough of that feeling.

'You're not being stupid,' The Spaniard's thin fingers signed quickly when they pulled away, leaving Lovi wanting more. 'Is something wrong?' Lovino saw Toni's features flash with confusion when he shook his head. Nothing was wrong, not really. He had been wanting to go a little further than those quick, secret make-out sessions when no one was watching and those goodnight hugs and kisses that had been the extent of their relationship so far.

"I love you," Lovino began, wanting to back out of this, but knowing that he now had no choice but to continue. "I love you a lot, okay? Nothing is wrong with the way things are. I love being with you and we don't have to do anything more if you don't want to." He seriously hoped Antonio got it because he did not want to explain any further. He didn't know if he _could _explain any further without screwing things up or dying from embarrassment.

Fortunately, Antonio's face turned bright red, showing Lovino that he knew exactly what he meant. 'Oh. Oh.' They both stood there for a moment, regarding each other with red faces and awkward shifting. 'I've thought about it but I was scared I would chase you off.'

"Of course you wouldn't." Lovino tried to smile through the awkwardness. "Nothing you could do would scare me." When he said that, he had to admit that the glint in Antonio's green eyes sort of unnerved him. Then he felt Toni's lips everywhere; his own lips, his neck, his jaw line. Lovino let out a moan as the elder man quickly found the sensitive spot on his neck and nipped at it.

His arms wrapped around Antonio's neck and, before he could register what was going on, he was being lifted up. Lovino clung to Toni as their lips connected again and the door closed behind them, sealing their fate.

**So yeah let's let them have their fun in peace guys. I might write a chapter if I get enough people wanting a chapter about what they did in there, but it won't be a direct part of the story. If I make the chapter, I'll post the link so everyone can read it if they want! Seriously, thank you all for being the best fans ever and reading my crappy fanfic, I love all of you guys. Shoutout to all of you guys in Hong Kong and Scandinavia! Didn't know the story would get that far! **


	12. Vacation!

Antonio woke the next morning still in Lovino's bed, the younger teen snuggled close to his body. He smiled to himself, running a hand through Lovi's hair, but avoiding his curl. Toni had always wondered what would happen if he touched it, but he'd seen Feliciano reach for it out of a bout of anger, which had made Lovino shrink away. So, he'd come to the conclusion that the odd strand of hair couldn't do anything good when pulled or touched.

Toni tried not to think of the events the night before. It had crossed his mind once already and had made his face turn red. He couldn't believe that they had done that! It wasn't like he didn't want it to happen, but he had wanted it to happen so much sometimes that he couldn't believe that he'd finally made Lovino his, in body and mind.

Lovi stirred next to him, making Antonio wrap his own arms around the Italian and hold him close. He kissed the top of his head near the curl, stroking his hair as his lover woke. Smiling when he heard Lovino groan at being awake, he moved down to kiss his lips softly. 'Good morning,' Antonio signed happily when he broke the quick kiss. 'Sleep well?'

"Yeah, but I'm a little sore now." Lovino complained, burying his face in the crook of the Spaniard's neck. They lay there like that for a while, neither speaking nor signing, them just enjoying the presence of the other. Despite a year of being together, they'd only woken up to each other once before. That was in Toni's old apartment after the night that had started it all. They'd not slept together since then.

Then, there was a knocking at the door. "Fratello, do you know where Antonio is?" The door swung open, Feliciano peeking in. "He's not in his roo-Oh. Oh, okay. That makes sense." He quickly slipped out, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he left, Antonio's body shook with silent laughter, making Lovino laugh as well. The two of them laughed at Feliciano's reaction for a while before they decided to get dressed and head down to breakfast.

When they walked down, Feli was acting like nothing at all had happened as they took their seats and ate. 'So, Feli, how was your night?' Antonio grinned, acting innocent with his question. That's when he realized that Lovino had been pretty loud the night before and Feliciano still hadn't known Antonio was in the room. He knew the Italians were heavy sleepers, but Feli was in the next room over. He should have known. Antonio's thoughts were confirmed when the younger Italian nearly choked on his breakfast, his face as red as he'd ever seen it. 'Don't tell me.'

Lovino was staring with wide eyes. "No fucking way. You did, didn't you?" Antonio knew he was more surprised that his little brother was up to such things than mad, but Feli didn't know that. He looked almost afraid as he regarded his elder twin, having forgotten his breakfast completely.

"I'm sorry!" Feliciano defended himself, flinching at Lovi's burning gaze. "But Ludwig and I have been dating for years now! I thought that it wouldn't be bad…" Feli trailed off, knowing full and well that his brother still didn't like his German boyfriend and he had just given him another reason to hate his guts.

'So moving on,' Antonio signed quickly, hoping to get away from the bad topic they were on now. 'I've been meaning to ask you two something. With the extra money from the lessons I've been giving lately along with my other two jobs, I have enough money for a few tickets to Spain. That is, if you two want to go.'

"Spain?" Lovino asked, surprised. "That sounds pretty nice, but wouldn't you rather go somewhere else? I mean, what about what happened to you there?" Lovi was now playing with his food, his appetite having been reduced to nothing at the start of the first conversation. Feliciano was nodding in agreement, looking at Toni with surprise.

Antonio shook his head. 'No, I'd like to go there again. It was the place I was raised, you know? And besides, it's not like we'd run into the same guy who slit my throat again. Spain isn't the biggest country, but it's still big enough that we shouldn't run into him within our short stay. The money is spent anyway; there wouldn't really be another reason to attack me.'

"That's true, I guess," Lovino grudgingly agreed. He stood, dumping the leftover food on his plate in the trash can before washing the plate and setting it out to dry. "When are we going?" He asked after a moment. Lovi was leaning back against the counter, watching Feliciano eat quickly while Antonio was already finished.

'Whenever you two would like to go. Tomorrow, next week, next month, or even a year from now is fine with me.' Toni shrugged. 'We'll only be spending a few nights there at most, kind of like a tiny vacation, but it's all I could afford.'

Lovino nodded. "When do you want to go, Feli?" He asked, looking to his twin. "Any time is fine with me, but just give me long enough to pack. I don't want you to be ready, have the flight booked, and wake me up an hour before the plane leaves and me not be ready like last month."

Feliciano laughed. "Actually, how about next week? That gives me time to tell our friends and find someone to watch the house and make sure they don't bail out on us. So when we come back, we wouldn't have been robbed or anything! Oh, I know! Maybe Tino and Berwald would like to stay and take care of the house."

Antonio just smiled. Soon they would be going to the country he'd been born in. Toni would show them around, take them to all the best restaurants, landmarks, and anything he could find that might be fun. He couldn't wait to go, even with the one in a million chance that there was at encountering those creeps that he'd met all those years ago. Antonio looked away, vowing that if they did see them, he would never let them touch his precious Lovino. He would protect him with his life.

**Sorry about the really late chapter, guys! It was going so well and I would have been finished with the story, but with Fourth of July planning and the actual day itself, I sort of got side-tracked. That and I got grounded for being 'irresponsible' when I forgot to take a tea-cup out of my room -.- Sorry again that this chapter came so late and that it's pretty short, but I haven't had time to come up with ideas. I have to start work tomorrow, too. That means waking up at 7:30 in the morning again. Oh, I did have time to write the smut chapter and here's the link: s/10513380/1/Night-Love But seriously, I hope you liked the chapter anyway! Thanks!**


	13. Painless, Soundless Goodbye

**Hi guys, I'm back! I'm sincerely sorry that I haven't updated in a really long time, I've been quite busy as well as just trying to avoid this chapter altogether. You're all going to hate me. So much. I almost regret doing this to you guys, it's a huge plot twist, but one or more of you have already guessed the events later on in this chapter. I hope you guys don't hate me too much because it only goes downhill from here!**

Antonio and Lovino walked out of the busy airport hand in hand, the Spaniard breathing in the scent he remembered as his old home town. He looked at his lover with a smirk, enjoying the way Lovino's eyes darted around the streets and to the cute little houses along the way. Toni swung their arms, acting like a child, as they walked toward the town just a few blocks away from the large airport. He laughed as Lovi saw the huge herb gardens most of the people grew in their front yards, tomatoes in a few of them.

'Where do you want to go, Lovi?' He signed happily with his free hand, having to wave in front of the Italian's face to get his attention. 'We should probably leave this town quickly, just in case, but I wanted to show you around the place I spent with my sisters. There's a huge market downtown or I can show you where I used to live. Or we can just walk around for a few hours.'

It took Lovino a moment to reply. "I can't believe I'm actually in Spain. I never knew I'd actually leave the country. I wish Feliciano could have come, though. He cares about that German bastard far more than he cares about me or anything else, even if it's only a few nightmares. Let's walk around a while; I'll get to see more that way."

And that they did. The two of them walked up and down the busy streets, Antonio greeting a few people he knew happily. They kept walking hand in hand, even when Lovino ran to the market when he saw it, dragging Antonio behind him. When they'd gotten halfway across town, Lovi made Toni carry him on his back. Antonio didn't mind and would have laughed as he ran forward suddenly, scaring the living crap out of the Italian.

Soon, some old lady walked up to them on the street. "Hello," she said, in Spanish of course. "You're Antonio, right? The famous dancer from a few years ago? I wanted to ask if you could dance again. A lot of people have been asking about it since you showed up."

Lovino took this as his cue to get off of Antonio's back and dropped to the ground, eyeing the lady. Antonio just smiled and nodded, grabbing his lover's hand and running to an old, sort of run-down building that used to be a dance studio. The Spaniard hardly recognized the building, but when he saw the old, paint-chipped sign, he knew he had the right place.

As soon as the door was open, a large crowd of people filed in after Antonio and Lovino, taking seats in the surprisingly pretty building. They sure hadn't kept it up on the outside, but it was just like Antonio remembered it being before he'd left. There was a surprising audience of people, even though he'd only been back in town for about an hour, more people than he'd thought must have gotten word of his arrival.

Someone had slipped in a song which just made Antonio's face turn as red as it could possibly get. Hopefully Lovino wouldn't recognize it; it was in Spanish when the original version was English. Unfortunately, the opening was unmistakable and Lovino's face was the same shade of red as Antonio's as he was pushed up onto the stage by one of the audience members.

"Who the fuck put in _this _song?" Lovino whispered harshly as Antonio let his body move to the rhythm. Still red, Lovino copied his movements. His face only got darker when Toni signed that he believed it to be the old lady from before. The two danced to the fast-paced song, neither getting tired. They'd danced to faster songs before and were used to letting their bodies do whatever, they didn't even have to think about it.

At the end of the very embarrassing song, someone threw a red rose and Antonio caught it with his mouth, making half the girls in the room swoon. "Show off." Lovino mumbled with a smirk before his face turned red once more. Antonio was holding out the rose to Lovi, smirking widely. Lovino took the rose, wanting to slap that smirk off of the other's face.

There was cheering from seemingly everyone there, they were greeted by so many people that Lovino's head spun, and a few of them even hugged Antonio and cried, exclaiming how happy they were that he was back. Apparently, he'd left on a very short notice, so short actually, that only three or four people had known of his departure beforehand. It made Lovi smile at how everyone was so nice about greeting him as well. They even complimented him on his dancing skills.

Soon, they were able to leave the small studio, Antonio kissing Lovino right on the sidewalk. Lovi couldn't help but to notice some jealous glares sent his way, but they only made him smirk to himself. _He_ was the one who had rights to his bubbly Spaniard. No one else. Antonio looked more serious after they left the studio and they made their way along the streets without distraction this time. No matter how many people tried to stop Antonio to greet him, he just nodded or waved, never stopping. After a while, Lovi questioned him about it.

"Antonio, why aren't we talking to people or stopping for you to point out random buildings like before?" He asked, starting to worry about whether or not Antonio was actually as comfortable seeing his home as he'd led Lovi to believe. It _was _where he'd lived with his now-dead sisters, which had to be painful to remember.

Antonio signed quickly without stopping, 'Lovino, there were more people who recognized me than I thought. That's bad. If word of my arrival traveled around town that quickly, and if there's the slightest chance those bandits are still here and holding a grudge, they more than likely know of my arrival as well.' He had stopped holding Lovi's hand a few blocks back, and didn't bother to look at Lovino as he spoke. Those two mistakes would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Hm, good thinking," came a voice from behind Antonio, about ten feet away. The Spaniard whipped around, his eyes wide. He would _never _forget that voice. The voice that had haunted his dreams since that night when its owner took his own voice. "Too bad I still have a grudge. And it's also too bad you were so busy having _so much _fun dancing that you didn't notice me in the shadows. I had to make sure it was really you and not just some _rumor _one of my lackeys decided to spread to save his position.

"I must say, Antonio, you really picked a cute one." That damn smirk was plastered to the man's face just like that night all those years ago. His blonde hair, with streaks of brown, stood up tall on his head. "I'm sure we're on first-name basis now, not that you can actually _say _my name."

Antonio was hardly paying attention to anything the man was saying. He was paying more attention to Lovino, whose eyes were wide with fear as the bandit leader held him tight against his own body, a gun to his temple. 'Abel. It's your fault that I can't say it, but trust me, if I could, I would call you everything in the book _except _your name. Now let Lovino go, it's me you want, isn't it? You want the money I kept from you all those years ago.'

"Wrong," the Dutchman said, his smirk fading. "Now, I have all the money I could want. It's my sister that I don't have any more. Despite popular belief, I became a bandit to get money for my pretty little sister's education. Laura was her name. Before _your _fucking sister, Casteel, if I remember correctly, killed her in a fit to protect you. Of course, I didn't know about that before I took your voice, or else I would have killed you right then and there. "

Antonio's face screwed up in anger. 'I wish I could say I'm sorry, wait no I don't. You don't deserve a sorry. You and your _demons _killed _both _of my sisters. Two sisters and my voice gone is enough for me to pay for your stupid-ass sister being dead. Hell, if you hadn't had the bright idea to come after us, she wouldn't be dead now, would she?'

He knew he'd said the wrong things when the gun pressed more harshly against Lovino's head and Abel's finger pressed against the trigger more firmly. To Toni's surprised, Abel looked as if he were about to cry. "Laura meant everything in the world to me. And your sister killer her. I'll never be able to tell her good morning again, or yell at her for doing something stupid. I even miss starving to keep her fed. Now it's _your _turn to lose what you care about most. Your soul-mate."

Lovino's now calm gaze met Antonio's panicking and terrified eyes. The Italian knew there was nothing Antonio could do in that split second. He didn't blame him, though. He hoped Antonio would know that as he felt the man's grip on him tighten further. Lovino knew he wouldn't make it out of this. He wasn't scared, though. He saw Antonio rush forward, his arms outstretched, before he closed his eyes and the click of the trigger dominated his senses.

He didn't even feel the bullet.


	14. Wrath of Feliciano

**Haha sorry about that last chapter, guys. No I'm not; I've had that planned since chapter five. But anyway, as you'll find out in this chapter, Lovino really is dead. That's right, my lovelies, he's not coming back. But I have something special planned which is going to make everyone hate me more. Have fun reading! And on that happy note…**

Antonio opened his mouth in a silent scream as the only one he'd ever loved collapsed onto the unforgiving streets. Abel had the nerve to just calmly walk away, even as bystanders heard the shot and rushed to the scene. Toni didn't care what they thought, and he didn't care what happened at that moment. All he cared about was the Italian who suddenly seemed small in comparison to the puddle of blood leaking out of that hole in his head.

He rushed forward, not caring that his hands would be soaking with the liquid, and collapsed next to his love. Picking Lovino's front half up, he held him close, peppering kisses all over his face. He tasted the metallic tinge of the blood. Antonio registered in the back of his mind that Lovino's face was very pale, his body slack and unmoving against his own body. Toni let himself sob into the other's blood-soaked locks of hair, his fingers gripping Lovi's cute little curl gingerly, a part of the Italian he was never allowed to touch.

He didn't hear the sound of an engine, and he didn't hear the screams and the overwhelming sound of his own quickened heartbeat pounding in his ears. The entire world was just him and Lovino, him and the one who had just been taken away after such a short time. He felt that little velvet box for the first time in Lovi's pocket and the sudden realization that he was really dead hit Antonio hard.

Antonio cried harder when he realized that he would never be able to see Lovino's bright eyes again. He would never be able to hear that cute Italian accent when he spoke English; he would never get the chance to get angry at the Italian and make up with a few kisses and laughs. Antonio would never get to say yes.

A few minutes later, Antonio faintly remembered being torn away from his little Italian, engagement ring in the box in his hand. He then felt an overwhelming sense of fear. What was he going to tell Feliciano?! What was he going to tell Elizaveta or all of the friends Lovino had made over the years? Antonio felt a shrinking feeling when he thought about how Feliciano would react. He wanted more than anything right now not to tell Feli, but he knew he had to.

He vaguely remembered someone telling him it would be okay as Lovino was taken away. Toni knew it wasn't okay now and it never would be.

It was a few hours later and Feliciano showed up at the airport with Ludwig. Antonio was there to meet them in a fresh set of clothes. Someone had given them to him when they'd seen his bloody outfit. Feliciano was a whirlwind of anger and grief, Toni noticed, as his eyes were red and puffy as he stomped toward him.

"This. Is. All. Your. Fault." Feliciano hissed, his voice cold and surprisingly void of emotion. "We told you the trip shouldn't have been planned for Spain. We were both worried about _your _sake, but no, we should have been worried about ourselves. I hate you. It's because of you that my brother is _dead._"

Antonio hung his head, holding back tears once more. He couldn't look Feliciano in the eyes. It was true, the only reason Lovino was dead now was because he had blown off the possibility of the bandits still being around. He'd thought that they could get out of town without being noticed by so many people. Antonio hadn't stopped to think that maybe it would be a very bad idea to dance for people and send a red flag directly to Abel.

Toni hated himself more than anything at the moment. He hated himself more than he'd ever hated Abel and his group. He hated himself more than he'd ever hated God for taking his sisters. He was the sole cause of Lovino's death. Antonio caused the death of the one he'd loved more than life itself. He deserved so much more than Feliciano's anger.

Somehow they managed to get back to Italy and arranged for Lovino's funeral to be the next day. Feliciano couldn't stand to have Antonio in the house after what had happened, so Toni was forced to leave. He decided to stay at Tino's house, the Finish man welcoming him inside and listening to the story.

"Oh Antonio, I'm so sorry!" Tino nearly tackled the Spaniard in a hug, almost to tears. "It's not your fault, Toni, don't think that! You couldn't have known that Abel would still hold a grudge after all these years. You didn't know what was going to happen! Feliciano is just grieving, he'll come around soon I hope. Until then, you can stay with Berwald and me! We'll take care of you!"


	15. New Hello

**Okay everyone, I know the last chapter really made people hate me, I'm sorry guys. For those of you wondering, the song playing in chapter 13 WAS Talk Dirty to Me in Spanish! I love you all, especially the ones who have stuck with this story since it came out, which was a whole month ago! I just hope you've enjoyed the story despite the feels and that you'll tell all your friends about it! Come on everyone, spread the word, even if you just want to troll one of your friends and say it has a happy ending. You guys are all the best fans (?) I could wish for. Everyone go check out TheAwesomeMe128 and SecretPrussianCitizen! Read their amazing stories! That is all folks, try to enjoy this chapter. **

The black gates to a cemetery, as homely as can be described for a place so dark, opened with a creak and a lone man strode into it. His brown, curly hair was longer than the residents of the town would later remember it being. It was his first visit to the small town since the funeral, he'd gone back to Spain to testify against Abel, earning the Dutchman life in prison for the murder of one and assisted murder of two. That wasn't good enough for Antonio, but there was nothing more he could do.

Ludwig had been kind enough to send the money everyone had set aside for his voice procedure before Feliciano had decided to spend it all. Antonio could never stop thanking the German and he was sure that Ludwig was still in the dog house from Feli for sending it. Feliciano and Antonio hadn't spoken in nearly a year, even now that the Spaniard _could _speak.

He'd had to go to America to get the procedure. He really didn't have to, but he'd been told that the best doctors and forms of medicine were found in the large country across the seas, and he wouldn't want to waste the money the Italian twins and their German friend had been generous enough to set aside by getting the procedure wrong. So he'd spent almost a full year in America recovering and learning to use his voice again. It was difficult at first, and hurt like hell, but he wouldn't stop trying.

Antonio's heart pounded in his chest as he stepped across the threshold and into the quiet little cemetery. His heart tore more and more with each step he took closer to that little hill in the back, that little hill he knew was home to the only love he'd ever have. He had a bouquet of stargazer lilies, Lovi's favorite flower, in his hand behind his back. Toni liked to think of it as a surprise, just like the first bouquet of flowers he'd given the Italian was.

When he got to the grave, he put the lilies down. "Hola, Lovi. I haven't seen you in a while, my love. I always found it so cute that the shortened version of your name is one letter away from the way I felt about you. I missed you while I was gone." He sat down in front of the stone, brushing some dirt off of the picture of Lovino attached to the gravestone.

"I brought you flowers, Lovino. I know you like these kinds; I hope I did well in choosing them. I know it doesn't make up for me not being with you for so long, but it's a start. I'm sure I can make it up to you." His smooth Spanish accent flowed over the words, cracking when the wind picked up. It almost sounded like Lovino's voice whispering a greeting in Antonio's ear. "I love you. I hope you didn't forget that when I was away."

The wind picked up more, Antonio's hair whipping in the wind, which could be described as almost angry. "Alright, alright, I take it you didn't forget." Antonio grinned, tears almost coming to his eyes. It felt almost as if his cute little Italian lover was here with him, trying to communicate using the wind. "I have a question, my little tomato. Remember that song that we danced to that time before we went to Spain? The first one we actually danced to together in a crowd? When Alfred brought music?"

The wind got noticeably calmer, barely a gentle breeze now. Toni took that as a yes and smiled faintly, a tear escaping his watery eyes. "I remember the lyrics. It's a duet, though, so you have to sing it with me, baby. I hope you remembered them."

Taking a shaky breath, Antonio started to sing those lyrics that he'd learned all those months ago. He'd made sure the song was the first song he'd sung after the surgery. Antonio had fallen in love with the song, as it described his feelings for his Italian. He tried as hard as he could to force the words out without so much as a falter in his voice. "Slowly but surely, I'm falling in love… Falling in love… With you…"

He continued to sing, stopping at the parts Lovino was supposed to sing. To his delight, the wind swirled around him, picking up petals of those beautiful lilies and fallen leaves, twirling them in a colorful cyclone. He let the tears flow freely then and could hardly finish the song. Near the end, he did what he had come there for.

There was a pistol in his pocket, something he'd let no one see. He pulled it out and held it to his temple; the same one Abel had aimed for on his precious Lovino Vargas. Finally, it was time for the last line. Antonio whispered it, the wind getting louder in his ears as if in protest. "Yes, I'm falling in love. Falling in love with you."

His voice caught in his throat at the last line, but he couldn't allow himself to break down. Not in front of Lovino's grave. Anywhere but here. He just let out a shuddering breath. "I love you, so, so much, Lovino Vargas. My cute little Italian." It was not truly a goodbye, so he didn't let himself say the word. It was a new beginning in a better place. "I hope you waited." Then the trigger was pulled.

_Lovino was walking along a stone wall, easily keeping his balance. It was the wall surrounding the cemetery, the place he decided to stay. Feeling someone watching him, he stopped. Lovi turned, his breath catching when he saw a familiar figure scrambling up the stone wall. His feet were rooted to the stone as the figure approached, his cocky grin getting larger with every step._

_Antonio held out his hand. Lovino, caught up in the moment, put his own in the other's larger hand. His breath hitched as he felt Antonio's cold hand against his own, and soon the Spaniard's lips were on the back of his pale hand. He watched as Toni raised his gaze to meet the Italian's own. _

_"Ciao, mio amore." Antonio's Spanish accent flowed in Italian. It was a sound Lovino would never get tired of. _

** watch?v=vfuX1rc_f3s the link to the song Slowly but Surely. It's by Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens.**


	16. EXTRA

**Hello my sweets! I honestly cannot believe the story got so popular! Over 15,000 people have at least seen it and just. Thank you all. So much. Thank you all for the nearly 60 reviews and thank you all for being there to give me ideas and just in general be supportive. You guys deserve another chapter, and that's what you're getting.**

Antonio sat on those cemetery walls with the love of his life – and death – for what seemed like an eternity. It probably was an eternity. At first, Lovino had been angry with Toni for committing suicide and not living his life to the fullest, but he slowly warmed up again. Every time Antonio would sing, trying out his voice to make sure he still knew how to speak, Lovino found himself at his side, mouthing the lyrics to whatever his Spanish lover was singing. He loved Antonio's voice, just as he loved the feeling of Antonio holding him – even if it didn't feel the same as being alive, more faint and distant, but there nonetheless.

Lovino spent centuries, never moving on no matter how many times the light presented itself to him, with just Antonio in that cemetery. They were bound there, though they could move on if they wanted. But Lovi didn't see the point. As long as he had Toni, he was in heaven. And besides, he didn't know what would be waiting for him in that light. It might separate him from his love and he didn't think he could handle that.

One day, Lovino was passing by a gravestone and actually looked at it. Of course, he'd looked at every gravestone there hundreds of times, but this time he actually examined it. It had his last name. Vargas. But it was no one he'd ever heard of. There was another grave next to it, like one of those that couples sometimes got. Lovino was sure the other name was also a man's, but he didn't recognize it. It seemed a little bit familiar, but it had been centuries and he had forgotten nearly everything about the life he used to live. If you'd told him now that he'd had a twin, he would have scoffed and said, "But I would have remembered growing up with them."

Antonio, too, had forgotten much of his life. He hadn't forgotten those bastards who had killed his sisters and his precious Lovino, but he'd forgotten nearly everything else. He'd forgotten that he used to live in Spain; he'd forgotten Tino and Berwald who had worked with him at the forgotten gelato shop. Antonio had forgotten the elderly lady he'd used to run errands for.

They'd both forgotten Feliciano Vargas. They'd both forgotten Ludwig Beilschmidt and his brother and when Antonio walked over to Lovi and saw the names on the gravestones, he didn't bat an eye. "Hey, look, Lovi! That person had the same last name as you! Do you think maybe you were related somehow?" He sat next to Lovino, who was tracing his forgotten brother's name with his finger.

"I don't know." Lovi whispered softy. "The name seems familiar, but it's been ages. I don't remember if it was put in before or after yours. I don't even remember if it was here before mine or not. Oh well. I guess it's not that important. If this person were, I would remember them."

There was a tug at his heart as he said that. Somehow, seeing that name and labeling it 'unimportant' made him want to die all over again. Lovi, deep down, knew the name – the person the name belonged to – was one of the most important things to him, but he just couldn't remember. "Hey, Antonio? Did w have any friends when we were alive?"

It took Toni a long time to answer. "I don't know. I suppose we would have had friends, I guess. After you died, I had to go somewhere. I don't remember names or faces, though. Why?"

"I just… I don't know. I had this feeling. I don't remember anything from when I was alive. I didn't really notice until now. Or at least, I didn't care. I'm not sure now." Lovino mused. It was actually beginning to scare him that he hadn't noticed his grip on life fading away over all these years. He couldn't remember a single thing about life except for Antonio, no matter how hard he wracked his brain. Well, mind, that is. He didn't quite have a brain anymore.

"So what do you want to do about it?" Toni asked, wrapping an arm around his Italian love.

Lovino thought for a while, unsure of what Antonio meant. His eyes kept skimming over the stone.

_Feliciano V. Vargas_

_March 17, 2020 – December 25, 2044_

_'A loving grandson, fiancé, and twin brother'_

The poor guy, Lovino thought. He died on Christmas Day. Oddly, it was just a few months after Lovino passed away. And the twin brother part of the engraving certainly made his head spin. They shared the same last name. Feliciano sounded very familiar to Lovino, as if he should know, but the information escaped him every time he tried to pursue it. Their deaths were only months apart.

In a flash, a memory returned to Lovi. It was between Christmas and New Year's. That was why the funeral had been so small. Only a few people came to it. Just the priest, the man known as Ludwig, Ludwig's brother, and Gilbert's boyfriend, Matthew. It had snowed, so no one stayed long. No one except Ludwig stayed, watching from afar as a casket was lowered into the ground not far from Lovino's own. Lovi had been a very confused spirit at the time, lost without anyone to guide him through getting used to being dead.

Lovino knew deep down, even back then as well as the present, that the person in that casket had been his twin brother. Feliciano. As soon as that memory was over, Lovino broke down into tears. He remembered every single detail about his happy-go-lucky twin that had been forgotten until a few seconds ago. How could he have forgotten? Antonio comforted Lovi as he cried. The time could have been minutes or days – in death, time is nothing.

"I want to see him again…" Lovino managed out between sobs, his breath and voice shaking. "I want to say that I missed him and that he was the best brother and that I'm sorry I forgot him and that I'm sorry I was always so mean-" He kept going on, stumbling over his words.

Antonio sighed internally. He'd wondered when Lovino would want to move on. "Then you should go see him. And tell him all of that. It's been a thousand years at least, my amazing Lovino. I think it's about time we did something other than wander around this place until everything ends."

Lovi soon stopped crying, holding and kissing Antonio's hand and along his fingers over and over again. He now missed his brother and his family with a hole in his heart aching need to be filled. The two of them just embraced each other, waiting for the inevitable return of 'the light' to take them to wherever they would go.

And Feliciano was waiting for them.


End file.
